Despite constant efforts by credit unions to warn and educate their members about online and mobile fraud, there are some members who are fooled by fear into a scam every day.
While the crooks know consumers are the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, some of the technology-savvy criminals are getting in through the proverbial credit union back door. According to a study conducted by the Boston-based cybersecurity firm Black Kite, which evaluated critical security controls of 250 credit unions from all asset categories identified by the NCUA and 150 associated vendors, 86% of credit unions and 76% of vendors that serve them have breached employee credentials available on the Dark Web, and 66% of credit unions and 88% of vendors have not deployed the necessary cybersecurity configurations that can protect against attacks.
These issues create two serious challenges for credit unions.
First, in addition to suffering huge monetary losses, victimized members may be more likely to move their money elsewhere if they perceive that their accounts are not secure and safe, according to two recent studies.
Second, tackling consumer digital fraud and credit union technology vulnerabilities are, of course, easier-said-than-done challenges because the fraudsters are not going away and the attacks are bound to get worse, experts warned.
IT consulting firm Accenture reported in April that consumer fraud tripled in 2020 and 2021 from prior years. The report,…