OnPoint Community Credit Union Tackles Digital Threats With Cybersecurity eBook

Posted by Alyse Knudsen on October 24, 2024

OnPoint Community Credit Union, which serves members in Oregon and SW Washington, released its 2024 version of The OnPoint Guide to Personal Cybersecurity eBook to help consumers protect themselves in an ever-evolving cybercrime landscape. OnPoint updates the free eBook every October in observance of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month to keep the community informed of the latest online threats.

U.S. consumers lost a staggering $10.3 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% increase from the previous year’s total, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Oregonians lost more than $101 million to fraud in 2023, a 15.5% increase from 2022. Washingtonians lost more than $253 million, a 12.9% increase from 2022. Imposter scams were the top threats in both states last year, according to the FTC’s report.

“As cybercriminals become more advanced, it’s essential to remain engaged and proactive with your digital safety,” said Damian Laviolette, Chief Information Security Officer for OnPoint Community Credit Union. “We’re dedicated to providing members and non-members alike with the tools and knowledge to protect themselves and their loved ones from increasingly sophisticated threats. Being cyber smart is a crucial first step toward staying cyber safe in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

The latest trends in online fraud include:

Cybercriminals continue to improve techniques with AI and automation. One technique used by cybercriminals is called deepfake phishing, where they recreate a loved one’s voice to add weight to these manipulative communications. Technology improvements have also made credential stuffing easier. This is when someone with stolen login credentials for one website will test the same combination on other websites. Cybercriminals use automation to test multiple sites and credentials at once with the hope of accessing at least one account with someone’s personal or bank information.

Youth and seniors are the most at-risk populations. Anyone can become a target, but the most vulnerable are youth and young adults (ages 13-25) and seniors (ages 60+). Young people, especially children, have clean credit histories that are not always closely monitored, making them valuable to identity thieves. Chat features in online games also give cybercriminals a platform to convince young people to reveal personal information, transfer money, or click on malicious links to a supposed update or mod to a popular game.

Cybercriminals target people aged 60 and older because they believe they have considerable assets and are less familiar with cybersecurity best practices and online scams. Tech support scams, personal data breaches, confidence and romance scams, non-payment or non-delivery scams, and investment scams were the top five most common types of elder fraud reported in 2023.

Your smart devices have become targets. According to IoT Analytics, there will be approximately 8 billion connected devices by the end of 2024, a 13% increase from last year. The growing number of “smart” household appliances, cars, and systems create potential access points for cyberattacks that might be easily overlooked. Cybercriminals can attempt to access your passwords or bank accounts through the information shared with a digital assistant or get into your Wi-Fi network to launch a ransomware attack.

Top Four Tips for Cybersecurity:

Always verify the sender. Messages from cybercriminals come in the form of emails, texts, or phone calls, claiming to be a legitimate company. They want you to hand over personal information or click on a link containing hidden malware. Double-check the sender’s address and domain name and never rely on the display name. You can hover over a link to see if the URL looks legitimate or has tricks like a zero in place of the letter “o” or an “s” added to the end of a word. Watch out for unsolicited offers or notifications, or messages full of grammatical errors and typos. Never trust a request for your password – a legitimate source will not need your password, PIN, or card number.

Watch out for quick money, unexpected windfalls, and too-good-to-be-true offers. Cybercriminals often send messages promising unexpected money in exchange for a fee or tax. You should always be suspicious if an individual, bank, or company contacts you offering any sum of money. Do not send money or attempt to deposit unverified funds – especially if you’ve never met the sender. A check might be fake or a cash app transfer could be fraudulent. If the funds are removed from your account, you will lose any portion of the deposit you had withdrawn or spent. Search for the person or organization online and seek the advice of your financial institution if you’re suspicious.

Talk to your children and elderly family members about cybersecurity. Your children and elderly family members should be aware of the threats they are likely to encounter online. Play an active role in your children’s online interactions and set up child-safety controls on their devices to restrict their access, block offensive content, and limit screen time. Help your elderly family members by educating them about common scams, monitoring their financial accounts for fraud and blocking spam calls on their devices.

Protect your devices. Change your router name and password from the default settings, use a guest network for smart devices and add multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirements to access administrative control of your primary network. Use strong passwords – or passphrases – that contain spaces between words, and symbols and numbers in place of some letters.

As online fraud continues to evolve, staying informed and alert is more important than ever. You can protect yourself and your family by downloading The OnPoint Guide to Cybersecurity eBook or consulting with a staff member at your nearest OnPoint branch.

Posted in Compliance Resources, Oregon, Regional Member News, Washington.