Executive Letter: Cybersecurity Awareness Starts with Education

By Rose Oswald Poels

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month — an annual reminder that protecting our customers is an ongoing and ever-evolving effort.

Bankers continue to see a range of scams targeting both customers and financial institutions — and these scams are no longer confined to clumsily-written emails and suspicious links. Bad actors use a mix of increasingly sophisticated techniques that weaponize social engineering and artificial intelligence to make phishing attempts appear legitimate to even the most cautious customer. Wisconsin bankers are seeing a rise in tactics such as:

• AI Impersonations: Scammers use AI-generated voices that sound friendly and familiar, or emails that convincingly mimic a trusted institution.

• Spoofing: Bad actors disguise a phone number, email address, or website to appear as though it is coming from their community bank or a government agency.

• Phishing: Criminals send emails or texts that trick recipients into revealing sensitive information or clicking malicious links.

• Brushing Scams: Consumers receive unsolicited packages as a part of fake transactions designed to boost a seller’s online credibility or steal personal information.

• Romance Scams or Catfishing: Bad actors build emotional connections with victims online using stolen photos to gain their trust, then manipulate them into sending money or sharing personal information.

• Cryptocurrency Scams: Criminals pose as investment advisors or romantic partners to convince victims to transfer funds into digital wallets. These transactions are nearly impossible to reverse.

• Gift Card Scams: Scammers pressure victims into purchasing gift cards as “payment” for supposed fees or emergencies. Once the numbers are shared, the funds are instantly drained and nearly untraceable.

• Synthetic Identity Fraud: Fraudsters combine real and fake personal data to create entirely new identities to open fraudulent accounts or apply for loans.

Education remains our best defense. WBA offers a library of consumer-facing resources designed to help Wisconsin banks communicate types of fraud and prevention tips to customers. Our latest “Don’t Be Spoofed” piece, along with additional cybersecurity safety resources like “Building Your Online Security” and “Don’t Get Spooked by Scams” are available for download on our website. These materials are ready to share on your websites, or easy to print to share in-branch with your customers.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is the perfect opportunity to review internal protocols with your staff, refresh training, and speak directly with your customers. After all: Trust is at the heart of a successful banking relationship.