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Why the FBI Director Doesn't Bank Online
angry tapir writes "The head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has stopped banking online after nearly falling for a phishing attempt. FBI Director Robert Mueller said he recently came 'just a few clicks away from falling into a classic Internet phishing scam' after receiving an e-mail that appeared to be from his bank."
Why does he even consider any such e-mail worth reading?! That is the biggest fail in the chain of his doings....
I don't meant to deride the director of such an important agency, but seriously? He has more to worry about from targeted attacks than phishing attempts.
A little knowledge goes a long way.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Unfortunately, this does seem like a novel concept: If you can't use it properly, and are unwilling to take the time to learn, don't use it at all!
Of course, it's a bit disturbing that the head of a major law enforcement agency can be scammed that easily. I know plenty of people (who aren't in any type of computer/tech field) who know very well that you never, under any circumstances, ever, go to a sensitive website from an email link, and you most certainly never enter any login details unless you've gone directly there. That's pretty common knowledge anymore, and this is a guy you'd expect to know better. Leads you to wonder what other simple concepts he can't get straight.
To fight the war on terror, stop being afraid.
The FBI Directors doesn't know to never click on a link from "his bank" in his email?
So i guess I can call him as his bank and ask him for his password too without him actually calling back to the real number?
No wonder security is broken ...
All emails from my "bank" get filtered right into the trash. It its important, they will call or send a letter.
Fortunately his wife will continue to use online banking...
Chinese and Russian governments scramble to create look-alikes for the FBI's intranet.
EMail Robert Mueller pretending to be from tech support.
I bank online about once a week. Everytime I connect, I check the HTTPS certificate. Also, my bank does not know my email address. If I get email from my bank, I KNOW it's a fake. period.
I almost got into a car accident when someone cut me off on the way to work this morning. By the logic suggested by TFS, I should stop using the public roadways.
Be calling for legislation that makes banks responsible for identity theft and any subsequent damage to consumer credit ratings. That would make the FBI's job much easier since the banks would never send emails, among other things, to make sure that they are diligent about identity theft.
While being an idiot he's obviously not so stupid that he doesn't realise that he's an idiot. Hence the self restriction. If more of the worlds idiots followed his example the internet would be a better place.
"Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation." -R. Feynman
Everyone is always just a few clicks away from being caught in a phishing scam. In fact, wouldn't it be closer to say that everyone is just one click away (the link from their email)?
It's like saying, I am a few steps away from a cash register at the supermarket...I came this close to be tempted to steal it. But I've solved the problem: I won't enter any supermarkets ever again. Or that everyone is just a few steps away from death by standing by the side of the road, so to avoid being hit by a car, I will never go near a road ever again.
Sure there are dangers everywhere, one just needs some education, like: never ever ever click on a link in an email claiming to be from your bank. Just like: you should always look both ways in crossing the street. Seriously, my 16 year old brother know both of those...
Robert Mueller,
There has been a technical issue we need to resolve with your account at counter-intel.fbi.gov.
Please click on the above link and fill in your details. Follow the on screen instructions and the error will be corrected.
Thank you and have a good day,
FBI Technical Support
Robert Mueller's the guy I keep getting emails from asking me to accept some money from Nigeria. He's always claimed to be the head of the FBI, but I never believed him. Man, all this time I've been risking arrest and denying myself several hundred thousand US dollars just because I thought it was a scam! I guess you shouldn't be skeptical of everything you get in your inbox.
I'm a psychologist (amongst other things).
I am not surprised.
The director of any agency does not necessarily deal with all the scams and most likely not with IT. He runs the business/admin side of things, and he has people working under him to take care of things like security etc.
What seems to be missed is that phishers has the e-mail address of the director of the FBI. Either it is a personal e-mail address - and I am not even sure people in that position are allowed to have personal/web e-mails. OR it is his FBI address - and that is more worrying than that he almost fell for a scam.
Another thing that worries me is that he takes nothing away from this experience - almost got caught, so I won't bank online anymore. Heck I would expect someone of his stature to go - Almost got caught, yikes better make sure that does not happen again.
The direct effect of this is that the director of the FBI is now going to either bank by phone (and that is a security hole right there) or going to wait in the qeue at the bank - exposing him to other risks.
I would've thought that higher up officials such as him had access to alternative more secure methods of doing things like bankin - how does the President of the USA do it, for instance?
Seven Days with Ubuntu Unity
..because he does not understand simple concepts about human nature and, resulting from this, the way in which modern banks conduct their business (e.g. never sending out mails about internet banking/passwords), and is apparently oblivious to the concept of such scams even though it has been reported in the mainstream press over and over again.
Somehow, it worries me that such a person would be the head of the FBI. Good thing I don't live in the States then, although I have reason to expect things aren't much different where I live.
That link is in Dutch, but you can still gather the idea from watching the movie. What you see is the prime minister (at the time) of the Netherlands who clearly has no clue whatsoever what a computer mouse is for and how it should be used (he attempts to use it like a TV remote). A six year old (!!) girl (!) then helps him out in sending an e-mail. This happened about 10 years ago, but mice had been 100% mainstream for at least a decade then (since Windows 3.11 at least - I mean, if six year old girls know, you can be pretty sure it was well out of nerd-territory by then).
The scary thing is that *these* are also the kind of persons in positions to come up with laws and regulations regarding the internet, filesharing, etc.
Every expression is true, for a given value of 'true'
So he's not using online banking because some phisher sent him an e-mail and he almost fell for it? If he took some money out of an ATM and then someone tried to mug him, would he refuse to use ATMs from then on? If he saw a report of a bank robber killing someone during a robbery attempt, would he not go into a bank's branch to do his banking? Just because the phishing attempt occurred doesn't necessarily mean that his bank's online banking system is insecure.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
It is rare that people recover from gullibility.
I don't believe you.
No the main reason Scottish courts released him is because the British PM "recommended" it in order to secure a HUGE drilling contract in Libya that was awarded shortly after his release.
My sig of choice is Marlboro
He's someone good at playing the politics neccessairy to get and hold the position. I would be shocked if he had any experience at all in criminal investigation, much less cybercrime, at anything other than a manager-of-investigators (or higher) level.
Robert Mueller served in the Marine Corp then earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. "He then served for 12 years in United States Attorney offices." He was chief of the criminal division for the Northern District of California before moving to Boston. There "he investigated and prosecuted major financial fraud, terrorism and public corruption cases, as well as narcotics conspiracies and international money launderers."
Falcon
Should there be a Law?