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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....
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...
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.
He has more to worry about from targeted attacks than phishing attempts.
Unfortunately, this quote from him doesn't inspire confidence:
"Far too little attention has been paid to cyber threats and their consequences," Mueller said. "Intruders are reaching into our networks every day looking for valuable information. Unfortunately they're finding it. "
It would seem that he is resigned to the situation rather than seeking a remedy for it...
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...
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
Bull. There's one simple way to avoid phishing scams. Open up the browser yourself and type in the address yourself.
Anytime I access financial information, I enter the address manually. If you can't remember something simply like "paypal.com" or "chasebank.com", you don't need a computer.
A former coworker of mine accessed his bank this way:
1) Open IE
2) Go up to the file menu, select "Open Location"
3) Enter "http://www.google.com/" (The full URL, not just google.com)
4) search for "Bank Of America"
5) Click on the first result, which thankfully was the right BoA site.
It is rare that people recover from gullibility.
I don't believe you.
Mueller said. "Intruders are reaching into our networks every day looking for valuable information. Unfortunately they're finding it. "
wait; who, again, are the bad guys?
given their MO, I consider the feds and police to be 'bad guys' when it comes to their perceived right to 'sneek and peek' any damned place they want for any reason at all. attach a gps to your car? no problem. and on and on it goes.
the government is THE WORST INTRUDER in our personal lives, these days.
I worry much less about criminals. they have a lot less power over me and once they do their deed, they're gone from my life.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Of course, otherwise you risk one day mistyping bankofamerica.com and ending up in a phishing site which looks just like the real thing.
If you can't trust your bookmarks, you can't trust your computer. If you can't trust your computer, you shouldn't be accessing your online bank on it in any case.