WARNING to all bank account holders: A new trojan could wipe out your entire bank balance
To all bank account holders out there (and to those who rely on Online Banking), there’s a new trojan creeping up and you (and your entire bank balance) may never know it until the damage it has done. The new trojan (a similar manner like a virus) called “Silentbanker”, targets many financial institutions worldwide even those in Canada. This particular trojan can intercept transactions that require certain steps and then quietly change the bank details of the user and transfer that into the hacker’s own account.
This particular trojan uses the bank’s genuine (valid) website as part of the attack. Traditional hackers looking for access set up fake (phony) websites designed to look the same way as the online banking website. This is just like the same manner as “Phishing” (No, this term has nothing to do with the band Phish, which coincidentally is one of Bobby’s favourites), in which e-mails are set up to look like the same thing and the user won’t go unaware until the damage is done…..
I usually avoid phishing sites by installing an alternative web browser such as Mozilla Firefox and then add some extensions to enhance my user experience such as the NetCraft toolbar and McAfee’s SiteAdvisor. Here are some tips to avoid a potential victim of this latest fraud:
- Update all security software (Anti-Virus, Spyware)
- Check to see if there is a fix for a particular web browser (in this case Internet Explorer) or go to Mozilla Firefox
- Make sure you have a firewall installed on your system (hardware or software). I highly recommend ZoneAlarm’s Free Firewall (or if you prefer, you can spend the extra money on investing a “hardware firewall” such as AlphaShield. If you have an old computer lying around, you can use it as your own Hardware Firewall and using a special Linux distrobution (ClarkConnect, IPCop), but although I wouldn’t recommend going to the old PC turned into a hardware firewall route because you will have an impact on your hydro bill if you intend to run it all the time - it also create some problems with your hardware and eventually, a fire hazard.
- If you have a broadband (Cable/DSL) router that has a built in firewall, use it. But for maximum protection, I highly recommend installing a software firewall in conjunction of a hardware firewall. If you want to test your PC for securability, then I highly recommend going to GRC lab’s Shields UP! test, which you can do it for free - in your web browser. No extra software needed.
- Consider getting an Anti-Spyware application (program). The free programs I recommend are Ad-Aware, Spybot and Windows Defender.
If you do suspect that you are a victim of fraud, report to your financial institution immediately. They will often reimburse you for the loss. The same matter goes to your credit card company, if you realized that you didn’t make the purchase, you will not be held responsible for that purchase (some conditions may apply for Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover cardholders) - that’s the Zero liability policy.
We all have to be vigilant to all of our surroundings, guys. You must protect your precious assets - your bank account.
References:
http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=0e8222a8-aa09-406b-be1c-0bce3e7a2a8b&k=48015
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/01/17/tech-trojan-banker.html
ATTENTION cross border shoppers, not all Canadian debit cards are accepted in U.S. stores
Well folks, I went down cross-border shopping to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York with my mom today and we had a lot of fun. That’s all I have to say. I bought two Famous Stars and Straps t-shirts, a can of Vurt deodorant bodyspray and some Vurt eau de toilette from a store called PacSun (Pacific Sunwear for short). I spent around $66U.S. As for my mom she spent some stuff from Guess, Bath and Body Works and Hickory Farms. I can’t remember what stuff she spent, but that’s ok.
Anyways, this is a take home message to all of you cross-border shoppers down there - especially if you are using your debit card in the United States. I just want to point out that not all Canadian bank cards (depending if you deal with a major Canadian bank or a credit union\caisse populaire) work in the United States. This “instance” occurred when I witnessed a Canadian trying to pay a purchase at a American store using his ATM card. In this case, the person was using a CIBC bank card to pay for the purchase. That card does not work. He tried another bank card, that didn’t work. The cashier told them that there’s a bank machine somewhere in the mall, but instead the person decided to use his Visa Credit Card.
It seems that Canadian people followed a message on one contributor to the Toronto Star newspaper about our soaring dollar. Here’s what he have to say:
“Don’t forget folks, if you use your ATM card in the U.S. the good ol’ Canadian banks will charge you a 2.5% conversion fee on the withdrawn amount. ” - Ron Russell, El Naranjo Mexico
Let me point this out, folks: Not all Canadian bank cards will not work in the United States. Even thought that the card displays the PLUS or Cirrus logos doesn’t mean that this card will not work on an American debit network. Unless, if you are the lucky ones who bank with TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, RBC Royal Bank, National Bank of Canada, le Mouvement Desjardins and ATB Financial, you can use your debit card in the states with no problem (NYCE is a debit card network in the states that will work with these financial institutions). I’ve decided to ammend Mr. Russell’s claim (sorry, dude. You just give the Canadian’s a misunderstanding) as a result (the explaination can be found on my old Livejournal blog, which since has been closed down).
There’s another debit network in the states called ACCEL/Exchange. As far as I know, Citizens Bank of Canada and Vancity are the only two financial institutions that offers access to that American debit network. A “minor” debit network called the CO-OP network has a debit system as well. Only two financial institutions, Alterna Savings and Alterna Bank offer such a service. There’s one benefit of that network: They’re all ding-free (surcharge-free)!
Now, don’t feel blue, you guys. I’m just posting my “second opinion”. When I checked out the Fashion Outlets Mall and the Walden Galleria, there’s is foreign exchange service provided by a company called “eFX” that recently accept Canadian bank cards!!! To give proof, I saw a sign that says, “Now accepting Interac”. Those were the only places that accept Canadian debit cards - but just only for changing currencies from Canadian dollars to the respective currencies such as the U.S. Dollar. I haven’t tried this myself, so if anyone is planning to go to these shopping malls, I highly recommend that you give a try. It’ll make a difference. If in doubt: you can always exchange money in Canada before shopping in the U.S. or use your Canadian Credit Card in the U.S. If you intend to cash money at an American bank machine (either using your bank card or debit card), be prepared to pay all the extra fees.
We hope that this information you find will be very useful.
References:
http://www.royalbank.com/products/deposits/cross-border-debit.html
http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID8186_LIDen,00.html
http://www.desjardins.com/en/nouveautes/paiement_direct_eu.jsp
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/ebanking/tda_dir.jsp
http://www.nyce.net/consumers/crossborderdebit/crossborderdebit.html
http://www.atb.com/Dev/features/abm_interac.asp and http://www.atb.com/Dev/aboutatb/atb_index.asp (scroll down until you find the word, “NYCE”)
https://www.vancity.com/MyMoney/ProductsandServices/Banking/WaystoBank/
https://www.citizensbank.ca/Personal/Products/BankAccounts/HowtoBankwithUs/INTERACDirectPayment/
http://www.alterna.ca/Templates/BankPersonalSub.aspx?mid=338&id=1302 (this is the same page as Alterna Savings’)
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/265884 - readers’ perspective about the benefits of our stronger dollar.
http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/271896 - facts about Cross-border shopping and many ways for you on how to pay for the purchase while shopping in the U.S.
What’s in TTC’s wallet? Free rides on streetcars, buses and subways on new years eve!
Do you guys remember there was a slogan by a major credit card provider that always ask the viewer, “What’s in your wallet?”. Well in that case, that company is Capital One and they decided to pitch in financial support for providing the TTC free rides on the transit system - streetcar, subway and buses! The TTC haven’t done this for almost 30 years. In the past, it’s business as usual for many riders - even on New Years’ Eve. But some TTC attendants like to “break the rules” on letting passengers in so they won’t pay the fare - that’s a bad idea to some and that’s in my humble opinion. If you live in Toronto and/or going to attend the celebrations in Toronto, you’re in luck. However, there’s one drawback: the free service does not start until 12.a.m on New Years Day - Jaunary 1st, 2008.
Many other transit systems in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) are offering similar or relatively identical promotions like the TTC. For example, Durham Region Transit is teaming up with Ontario Power Generation or OPG (the province’s power generator) and the Manufacturing and Technology Centre on providing free transit service from 8a.m. to 2a.m. GO Transit in the meatime will provide free rides after 7p.m. until end of service (All times Eastern). It is uncertain for Durham Region Transit, as they are in a middle of a $2.3 Million CDN deficit and it could rise…..As for GO Transit, their bus drivers are currently planning to have a strike sometime on January 7th, 2008. Which is blasphemy because, people will have nowhere to go! This is the worst experiences I had as a college student.
Today, I was catching a bus home from Oshawa to Ajax (I was at the Oshawa Centre to do some Boxing Day shopping). I showed my UPASS to my bus driver (a universal transit pass on my Durham College student ID card. UOIT students and Trent @ Oshawa students also participate in the program and it’s included in the tuition) and the bus driver told me that the UPASS is NOT valid on holiday service. I’ve tried to persuade him that it is valid during on holidays, but the driver refused my claim. I was then forced to pay with my leftover DRT adult ticket. Another colleague of mind - this time a UOIT student showed the UPASS to the driver and she got the same response as mine. She was then forced to pay cash as a result. She didn’t got angry at first and for myself, I tried to cool down my frayed tempers. By the time I left the GO bus, I was mumbling to myself on my head. Shortly after the incident, I briefly recorded the bus number, the date and time of the incident and where the incident occurred. I filed a complaint to GO Transit and to the Better Business Bureau. To view my progress of the BBB report, click here.
This is the third time that I got ding’d! The first time I got ding’d was a DRT bus driver thinking that my pass is not valid. My second incident happened when another (you got that right), another GO bus driver checked my pass at the back and she thinks that I had altered my pass, but what I was suppose to mean is that the inked that the student ID office stamped for me got smudged. So after that, I have to get my student ID replaced. This is a very bad experience for me, I’m considering to file a lawsuit against Durham Region Transit and GO Transit (the problem is, i don’t know where to start and as the old saying goes, it’s up to the courts to decide). The College’s paper had written an article about the UPASS misuse and you can view it right here. Here’s what a co-ordinator for student identification services referred about me:
“The onus is on the bus services. Some drivers don’t check, and it’s up to them to enforce it. We had one guy come in and he’d written over his stamp in marker……as if we couldn’t tell it was his handwriting. We will re-stamp cards if they become faded, scratched or damaged, though. It happens.” The bottom line is that using a fake stamp on campus ID cards is considered fraud.
Anyways, free transit rides are a sure thing that the TTC has finally get their hands in their pockets. To close it off, I would like to say best wishes for a better 2008. If you are going to a public place, like an arena (such as Oshawa’s Celebrate 2008 at the General Motors Centre) or a square (like CityTV’s New Year’s Bash 2008 at Nathan Philips Square in Toronto), this is my take home advice for you: Remember to be kind and generous to other people at this time of year. If you exaggeratedly filed with excitement, you have decided to break it. Just like the song by a band from Vancouver, B.C. called Marianas Trench. The song goes like this:
A thousand promises that never seemed to help me before A hundred less and I would stumble till I found the back door With nothing left to think I’ll probably sit around and ignore The apathy it always leads me It always finds a way to break me down… And that’s when I decided to break it
Remember what the phrase in a scene in the “Decided to Break It” music video:
“Failure is not an opinion. It’s inevitable.”
You can view Marianas Trench’s music video below. To learn more about the band, please visit www.marianastrench.net:
References:
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_18024.aspx
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071226/free_TTC_071226/20071226?hub=TorontoHome
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/288699
http://680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20071226_094649_4740
follow up to my post about a common and fool-proof payment system
Remember a couple weeks back when I did a post about a common and fool-proof payment system that doesn’t exist in real life? Well, this is what I had in mine. I already had mentioned about chip cards coming to Canada in the next several and from what I had googled on, there were a few attempts by major banks with credit card companies trying to get the idea.
A couple years ago, CIBC (with the help of American Express) launched the entourage credit card. This particular credit card has a chip embedded on the card. When shopping online, the user has to insert his/her credit card in a convenient chip card reader (providing if its connected to the computer’s USB port) and they don’t need to enter their credit card number by typing it. The software automatically detects the smart card reader and prompts the user to enter a password. The information is then authenticated and passed over by the bank.
The entourage card wasn’t able to appeal to many customers (CIBC holds a major agreement with VISA currently), as it has with many chip embedded cards, it quietly flopped sometime between 2003 and 2004. As for the redundant credit card readers that cardholders applied for, they’re completely useless. If the system was in place today, I could have took that opportunity - however there are lots of countless security flaws with the system - especially if you do online shopping with another web browser (such as Mozilla Firefox).
However, two new security initiatives are being (but slowly) implemented: Mastercard’s SecureCode and Visa’s Verified By Visa. The user has to simply enter a password that he/she configured online and in moments, the user shops with confidence. I’m not sure if American Express has a similar feature competitive to Visa and Mastercard’s secure feature.
Note to all banks, credit unions and online retailers: Implement an option for users to pay for online purchases directly from their bank accounts and/or provide support for users to insert his/her chip-embedded card without the use of entering their credit card number. Top that off with allowing the user to enter his/her secure PIN number so they can shop with complete confidence.
References:
http://www.evalu8.org/staticpage?page=review&siteid=9727
http://www.tsys.com/news/press_release_article.cfm?News_ID=96
Why there isn’t a common and fool-proof payment option to pay stuff online
As the Canadian Dollar is soaring to unprecedented levels along with the increase in online and cross-border shopping, there isn’t a common and fool-proof payment option to pay stuff online without the use of a credit card. The reason, you are more prone to increased security risks on giving out your credit card information online and your risk gets increased further as someone has no permission from you using your credit card.
For me, I have a credit card but I’m not willing to take that risk. I do have a bank account but these days most financial institutions in Canada - notably RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank and TD Canada Trust offer paying your purchase online using your bank account (dubbed Interac Online) - but at Canadian companies only offering the service. My bank (that I have an account there) in particular does not offer that service as to maintain its no-fee system.
It’ll be years (or decades, or worse - my entire lifetime) until a common and fool-proof payment system is developed so we could take an opportunity on paying the stuff online we always wanted.
In other related things, Chip Cards (the ones with a microchip embedded on them) are starting to gain momentum in Canada. As I speak, a trial is being conducted in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and it’s ongoing as I speak. This marks the first time that the chip card system for paying things is gaining the ground since the failed Mondex pilot project in Guelph (Ontario) and Sherbrooke (Quebec). In the next three years and more, we will see more and more chip cards on the hands of Canadian wallets and eventually reduce the risk of fraud once and for all. Europe was able to successfully reduce the number of card fraud in unprecedented numbers. All you need is to insert the chip card on the reader, confirm the amount and enter your PIN number. Once that’s done, you will be notified that the transaction has gone through or not. If it has, you can take the card out of the reader. It’s simple as that.
This is what a chip card looks like:
Over the coming years, we will see more and more chip cards going into circulation and more bank machines and PIN pads equipped to handle chip cards. It’s worth the wait for me, but if the system was implemented today, I would take advantage of it.
Further reading:
http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/16/c4259.html
http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/September2007/12/c8161.html
http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/16/c4609.html
A video on how the chip card works and interviews by various people
Interac’s web page about the chip card
www.chipmigration.ca - website about the Kitchener-Waterloo pilot project for chip cards
UPDATE: article from the Guelph Mercury about the comeback of the chip card pilot project: http://news.guelphmercury.com/Business/article/255038
Although not related to my topic, there is a web page about Interac’s new campaign dubbed, “The convenience of the debit network”: http://www.marketingmag.ca/daily/20071106/national1.html Every time I see that commercial, I literally cried.
