Bring employees up to speed

Fight fraud by reducing human error via cybersecurity training.

Perhaps the most practical, cost-effective way to fight fraud is a good training program. “At the end of the day,” notes Chris Guard, VP/compliance and fraud at $40 billion North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union, Raleigh, “most fraud is not a result of sophisticated technology but human error.” The human element remains the weakest link, and educating staff is critical. “Attacks occur simultaneously across multiple channels,” he explains, so the contact center, the tellers and the new accounts people all have to be alert to what’s happening across all these channels.”

“No product can replace a vigilant credit union employee,” says John Buzzard, previously principal of the counterfeit ATM fraud operation at FICO and now industry fraud specialist at CUES Supplier member CO-OP Financial Services, Rancho Cucamonga, California. “The fraudsters may have a lot of data needed to fool machines, but an alert person can throw them off just by changing the routine a bit and asking good questions. I attended a conference once,” he recalls, “where the primary speaker was a convicted (and recently paroled) cyber thief. When someone in the audience asked him which corporate target was the toughest to penetrate, he replied, ‘That would be American Express, because they allow their employees to think outside the box by asking unusual questions. Many of them would simply place me on hold and call the actual cardholder directly, thwarting my best efforts with a single phone call.’ Sometimes the simplest action has the most powerful results.”

 

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