#BankAccountSecurity #FraudPrevention #CreditUnionSafety
Protecting Mom’s Bank Account from Compromises
Has your mom been experiencing frequent compromises to her bank account? It can be a frustrating and concerning situation to deal with, but there are steps you can take to help protect her finances and personal information. Here are some tips to safeguard her accounts and prevent further compromises:
Community First Credit Union: Understanding Security Measures
Community First Credit Union is known for its commitment to security and the protection of its members’ financial information. However, even the most secure institutions can experience breaches. In the case of your mom’s compromised account, it’s important to understand that the issue may not necessarily be with the credit union itself, but rather with external factors such as online activity and malware.
Identifying the Source of Compromises: Free Streaming Websites and Malware Risks
One possible reason for the repeated compromises to your mom’s bank account could be her frequent use of free movie and TV streaming websites. These websites are often riddled with malware and can make her vulnerable to cyber attacks. Despite her assurances that her computer is clean, it’s essential to conduct a thorough scan to rule out any potential threats.
Taking Action: Steps to Help Protect Mom’s Bank Account
Here are some proactive measures you can take to help safeguard your mom’s bank account from further compromises:
- Educate Mom on Safe Online Behavior: Encourage your mom to avoid visiting suspicious websites, especially those offering free streaming services. Remind her to never share sensitive information online.
- Regularly Monitor Account Activity: Keep a close eye on your mom’s bank statements and report any suspicious charges immediately. This will help detect compromises early on.
- Update Security Software: Ensure that your mom’s computer has up-to-date antivirus software installed to protect against malware and other online threats.
- Consider Changing Banks: If compromises persist despite taking preventive measures, it may be worth exploring other banking options to ensure the safety of your mom’s finances.
Final Thoughts
Protecting your mom’s bank account from compromises requires a proactive approach and ongoing vigilance. By taking these steps and staying informed about the latest security practices, you can help safeguard her financial well-being and provide peace of mind. Remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to online security.
Could be a skimmer at a gas station or store. Cross reference transactions and look at everything she has paid for on all three cards before the fraud occured. Look for patterns.
If it’s malware, she would have had to enter the new info into her computer.
I would suggest using a virtual debit card for the online stuff. There are services that will give you one that is linked to your main one behind the scenes. You can set limits for the charges and it would help narrow down what is to blame. Try to compartmentalize the stuff she is doing so you can mitigate the risk and catch the cause.
What are the fraudulent charges for?
Is there anyone close to her (a partner, etc) that could potentially be the culprit?
if it happens all the time then its something she is done or some where she is going. Tell her to stop using sketchy sties
Does she have an Amazon account? Tell her to log in from a computer and check her order history. Look at the ARCHIEVED list, which you can only pull up from a computer.
We just discovered fraud through Amazon that was draining our accounts. Every new card, they had my log in and would buy things. They also stole other peoples cards and had those on my account too!
She’s giving the information to somebody that’s selling it. Or maybe she’s suffering from dementia and doesn’t realize she’s actually buying these things? I don’t know how old she is.Â
But there’s no way the bank keeps getting compromised without her being the one causing it or somebody within her household that has access to the card numbers.
Who told you credit unions were safer? They have low budgets and can only direct so much into each aspect and expense, hence why their online banking is typically years, if not decades, behind big banks. Big banks pour hundreds of millions of dollars into security.
Additionally, this may not be a bank issue, but rather an issue with your mom. If she keeps getting her accounts compromised, then it most likely means she keeps handing out sensitive info left and right. At some point, the credit unions will flag her as a liability and a risk and close her accounts.
Sounds less like the bank and more like something she is doing, She needs to clean her computer thoroughly. Each card was compromised and she mostly shops online. Could have downloaded a keylogger and she keeps giving them her new info each time she gets a new card.
I had to force my mom to stop shopping online. She hasn’t had any fraud charges in 6 months whereas she had several every month for a year before that. If she needs anything I make the purchase for her. Part of her problem was buying from sketchy sites like Temu.
This doesn’t really seem like a personal finance problem. It’s more of an I.T. problem.
Why does she think her computer is clean? Does she run anti-malware? If you have access to her computer, you can take a look.
What browser does she use? These days I would recommend Firefox for general purpose browsing.
Every time I visit my parents, I take a look at their computers and clean off malware and what not. People of our parents’ generation are not particularly adept at safe internet usage.
Is she getting emails with weird characters in them and clicking on the links? Consider having her change her email address to a new one, setting up her email again from scratch and never accessing the old email account.
I think the most likely situation is that she is visiting sketchy websites and giving up her card information. Maybe she is unaware that they are sketchy or things like that. The movie websites could certainly be the cause. She might not want to admit what websites she’s on or she might even have early stage dementia. The second most likely is that she has a computer virus, and they are just stealing her details with that. The third is that maybe the is just unlucky. Fourth is maybe telemarketers or like indian IT support scammers. What can you do? Well, it depends on how much she wants your help. If she doesn’t want your help, if she just wants to vent, then you can’t do anything. If she does really want help and doesn’t mind you invading her space a bit I would investigate these charges more and read through her web history to see if they match at all. I would probably also take all the important files and put them on a USB stick then completely reset her computer to get rid of any viruses.
I used to buy my mom Visa gift cards to use, instead of her credit card. The $3.95 fee was worth it, since it limited the time I spent helping her with fraudulent charges. She stopped using credit card completely.