Promoting cybersecurity and fraud prevention should happen all year long

In our industry, not a day goes by when we are not collectively thinking about fraud prevention. While financial fraud is not new, the losses and impact felt by these types of crimes is growing annually. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023—up 14 percent from the prior year. Losses like these can prevent hardworking Americans from purchasing a home, financing a car, or buying groceries. Every dollar lost to a fraudster also costs North American financial institutions $4.41.These dollars add up fast, especially for smaller credit unions.

That is why it is critical for credit unions to make the most out of awareness campaigns like October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Your credit union can amplify your efforts to educate members about online threats alongside other public and private organizations who also are promoting cyber safety. In Maine, our League is promoting turnkey resources that credit unions can utilize this month to bring attention to online threats and the steps people can take to better protect themselves when using the internet.

When we flip the calendar to November, however, our collective work as an industry to safeguard our members from fraud cannot stop. Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated with their tactics and leveraging tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI) to wreak havoc on our digitally connected world. If your credit union does not already have a year-round fraud education strategy in place to support your members, now is the perfect time to develop one. Equipping members with the knowledge they need to identify and fight fraud has never been more important.

While we do not have all the answers for addressing fraud in my home state, I am proud of what we have done to develop resources credit union employees and members can utilize at any time to identify threats and reduce risk. These resources are constantly evolving, just like the fraud we are seeing every day.

To assist credit union staff, training has been a focal point of our activity. The Maine Credit Union League has long been a champion of the Senior$afe program, having been a founding partner of the initiative in 2014, and working with Senator Collins as she wrote—and successfully passed into law the Senior$afe Act. As the nation’s oldest state, it is especially important that our frontline tellers recognize the signs of elder financial exploitation and feel comfortable reporting it when they do. The training helps them recognize the signs of unusual financial activity and offers proactive measures they can take to prevent losses, protect assets, and safeguard members’ personal information.

Additionally, Maine has taken advantage of our industry’s partnership with AARP by utilizing their innovative BankSafe program. The tenants of this convenient online training also help credit union team members better identify financial fraud among other age brackets as well.

Our League created two Fraud Prevention Resource hubs—one that is public-facing and another that only our credit unions can access. Each site contains tailored information, videos, blogs, and articles that are appropriate for the given audience. The public-facing resources help prevent members from becoming a victim, while the credit union tools empower staff with the knowledge they need to identify red flags for fraud.

We also recognize that bolstering cybersecurity requires a face-to-face approach in addition to our robust digital resources. Our League developed educational brochures on combatting fraud and scams, which are offered in branch lobbies, food pantries, at community events—anywhere someone with limited or irregular technology use may be.

Lastly, we hold monthly calls with our credit unions to discuss fraud trends they are seeing at their branches. It is an open forum for collaboration, information sharing, and establishing best practices. We also send out real-time action alerts to warn credit unions about fraudulent activity occurring in the state as it is happening. Corporate check and wire fraud, romance, and cryptocurrency scams are just some of the topics we have touched upon in the past six months.

Engaging in initiatives like Cybersecurity Awareness Month is important, but it is only part of the solution. People Helping People also means Credit Unions Helping Credit Unions, and if any of our initiatives can help you further your own efforts, please utilize them. Ongoing collaboration and cooperation within the League system can be a valuable tool in this shared fight to combat fraud.