By Jennifer L. Szaro, CRCP, Chief Compliance Officer

You likely have seen reports of fraudulent pandemic relief loans, fraudulent unemployment claims, email hacks, and the compromise of millions of people’s personal information from large scale data breaches. All of these have put millions of us on the defense. We should not fool ourselves, our information is still “out there”. From the financial services industry perspective, we are seeing an explosion of identity thefts, email hacks and consumers with compromised information. 

Here are a few indications your identity has been stolen:

• You receive a letter in the mail regarding a loan, unemployment claim, credit or financial account statement that you did not initiate.
• There are accounts listed on your credit report that you do not recognize. 
• Money was taken, or attempted to be taken, from your existing account without your authorization.
• There are other warning signs listed here https://www.identitytheft.gov/Warning-Signs-of-Identity-Theft 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

A family member of mine received a letter regarding a fraudulent loan. It is a helpless feeling knowing someone else is using your information for their financial gain. You feel taken advantage of. It is hard to know where to turn, who you can trust and what you should do. First, you are not alone and you can do something about it. 

First, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website ftc.gov to, among other things:

• Report Identity Theft
• Get Your Free Credit Report

Searching the internet about what to do could take you to malicious websites or another hacker trap. Subscription services do not give you all your options and you could end up paying for something you don’t need and miss valuable steps to take advantage of legal protections.

Select Report Identity Theft. www.identitytheft.gov

I know what you are thinking, “really a government website?” YES, it is the best “go to” source. It is also a necessary first step. It will help you determine your situation, what you need to do and create your own “recovery plan” checklist. It is a reliable site, surprisingly simple and intuitive to navigate. 

Read through the site and the resources. They are updated according to the latest threats and best practices. You likely should also review your Credit Report, follow the prompts on ftc.gov.

WHAT WE DO

As a financial services firm information security is nothing new. However, given the high level of fraudulent activity it is important for you to know what we are doing and the changes you may notice in the servicing of your accounts. For security reasons we will not discuss specific technology and procedural measures. 

• We are highly engaged and informed regarding the latest cyber threats, industry activity and alerts. We engage with our regulators, other firms, and industry colleagues to share real time occurrences, best practices to better prepare our firms. We prefer to learn from others’ mistakes and not repeat them.
• Training our staff is ongoing. We treat emails with the approach that they ‘may or may not be coming from the account owner’. 
• Heightened attention is given to the movement of funds. Don’t think we are trying to be difficult if we ask to speak to with you, reject a document or request more information. We are constantly refining our policies and procedures to meet the evolving threats. There are important reasons for doing what we do and it all is focused on protecting your funds.

We recently held a very important discussion with former FBI Special Agent, Gary Rossi, where we talked about the impact of cybersecurity and the different strategies people could employ to protect their wealth. Click here to find a recording of that insightful discussion.