Security

Phishing E-mail

Recently, there have been increased reports of "phishing," a scam perpetrated via e-mail. In these scams, the perpetrator sends e-mail to the general public posing as a legitimate company and asks you to click on a link to verify account information.

In some instances, the perpetrators have posed as financial institutions. In these scams, the perpetrator asks customers to verify their account information and other sensitive information by clicking on a link that takes them to a fraudulent website. The fraudulent web site in many cases has been designed to look identical to the actual site of a legitimate company.

Farm Bureau Bank will never ask our customers for their personal information, such as account numbers or passwords. Furthermore, we will not ask you to download software in an email. If you receive an e-mail or text from someone claiming to be Farm Bureau Bank and they are asking about your account information or other sensitive information, do not respond to the e-mail or text. In addition, do not dial a telephone number that is not listed on farmbureaubank.com.

If you have responded to such a request and provided any confidential account information, please notify Farm Bureau Bank immediately. You should also change your account’s PIN (personal identification number) and/or password and take any additional action recommended by Farm Bureau Bank to protect your account.

Phishing Scam With Worm Attachment

A number of organizations have been targeted by an e-mail virus that can infect computers with a “worm” if opened. This worm had been mass-spammed to millions of e-mail boxes. The messages claim to come from familiar emails. The text of the e-mail states the recipient has been logged as a visitor to illegal websites and advises that they should open the attachment to answer some questions. Opening the attachment can infect the computer with the “Sober K” worm virus, which accounts for 65% of all viruses reported to Sophos, a global network monitoring system. Any recipient who opens the attachment risks having their computer(s) involved in a number of illegal activities, according to the FBI and CIA (Washington Post Nov. 23). Sophos analyst Graham Cluley has said one in every 74 pieces of e-mail sent over the Internet--including legitimate messages--is currently infected by the Sober K worm.

• If you receive an e-mail from someone you don't know, don't open it even if it looks official.
• Don't open something if it doesn't make sense or if you aren’t completely comfortable opening it.
• Don't open email attachments sent from someone you don't know.

Zip files are a key way viruses can spread. Opening a zip file may trigger an auto-execute program with preprogrammed acts, such spreading a virus through an Outlook address book or collecting data via keystrokes on the recipient's computer. Viruses can capture and send personal data, passwords, log-in names, and keystrokes made while conducting online banking transactions. Firewall's won't protect you if you open such attachments because e-mail gets through a firewall.

E-mail Claiming to Be From the FDIC – October 26, 2009

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.

The subject line of the e-mail states: "check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage." The e-mail tells recipients that, "You have received this message because you are a holder of a FDIC-insured bank account. Recently FDIC has officially named the bank you have opened your account with as a failed bank, thus, taking control of its assets."

The e-mail then asks recipients to "visit the official FDIC website and perform the following steps to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage" (a fraudulent link is provided). It then instructs recipients to "download and open your personal FDIC Insurance File to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage."

This e-mail and associated Web site are fraudulent. Recipients should consider the intent of this e-mail as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, some of which may be used to gain unauthorized access to on-line banking services or to conduct identity theft.

The FDIC does not issue unsolicited e-mails to consumers. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT follow the link in the fraudulent e-mail.