Page 37 - Cyber Defense eMagazine October 2023

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$100,000 CD at ALLY bank (Caught this within 60 days, so the bank's
insurance covered it)

$20,000 COINBASE bitcoin theft (Never recouped this loss)

$1,200 AMAZON - two Apple watches (Recovered after receiving an alert)

JUST A FEW AT OUR REGULAR BANK:

$10,000 ACH transaction (Thwarted due to an alert)

$500 in ZELLE withdrawals (Deterred on alert)

And in May 2023, a… (Withdrawal attempt exceeded account
balance by $235,000, so it bounced. We had
$240,000 withdrawal attempt just transferred $240,000 from account days

before!)

What's more, when I tried to start a clean slate and open a new bank account at another institution, I was
denied despite a credit rating of over 800. When directed to Chex Systems for more information, I learned
that 32 bank accounts had either been opened or were attempted to be opened in my name nationwide.
I was unable to open a new bank account for two months. And what's more, we were having so much
fraudulent activity in our accounts that it had become a full-time job to monitor them. We were hacked so
frequently that our bank account-linked credit cards were being replaced every week or so. So often that
sometimes before we even activated a card, it was no longer usable. We also incurred many service
charges when canceled cards were bounced.

Frustrated, I spoke to security and fraud departments at my banks and brokerage firms to understand
how my accounts had been compromised. With no answers forthcoming, I was, regrettably, beginning to
equate the cybersecurity industry to the healthcare industry, where it sometimes seems profits supersede
the effort to find a cure. Better to keep treating a customer in need than cure him. I preferred not to take
this cynical view.

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