Combating Cyber Crime
Submitted by Watters Financial Services, LLC on November 20th, 2015Cyber security attacks are becoming more and more prevalent. At Watters Financial Services, LLC (WFS) we have experienced fraudulent attempts to gain access to our clients’ assets and private information many times. There are a number of ways in which this can occur. Some of the methods they use are listed below.
- IRS fraudulent calls
- Tax Returns filed and refunds taken by scammers
- Impersonation of the client at a bank to withdraw funds.
- Phishing attacks to a firm requesting client funds (This actually happened again to one of our clients yesterday)
- Fraudulent credit cards issued in the client’s name
To combat these security attacks, WFS has instituted office policies and procedures to combat cyber crime. Some of these policies and procedures include:
- Clients have a secret password that they use whenever requesting funds.
- Clients are set up for electronic fund transfers from TD Ameritrade Institutional to their personal checking account.
- WFS calls clients to verify their identity whenever funds are requested via email.
- WFS encourages clients to change their passwords on key financial websites every 3 months.
- WFS uses an encryption software Citrix ShareFile®, when sending and receiving sensitive data and attachments by email.
- WFS has a picture of clients on file.
- WFS encourages clients to switch to email providers other than AOL.
- WFS uses Orion® as an online portal that allows clients to access their performance securely from anywhere in the world.
- Client data and paper documents are shredded after the appropriate holding period.
These are just some of the ways that WFS is committed to safeguarding our clients’ assets and private information.
More Information can be found on the Department of Homeland Security’s website at http://www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect#
