Who’s Benefiting from your Bank Account?

You probably don’t know when it happened or how you received it — I’m talking about being duped by your bank account.

There are numerous examples of occurrences like these and it’s a typical tactic to target one’s bank account information. This particular  Trojan is able to take advantage of users by duplicating their banking website, and in turn, the user is providing all of their log-in information to a hacker, who then slowly takes money from your account.
It’s a smart method of duping users — hackers and cybercriminals use these tactics every day to con people into providing their personal banking information. It’s a sad and terrible way to cheat innocent people, but it’s working.

This “Trojan” can be associated to similar banking variants, such as Trojan Zeus and SpyEye, which spread the old-fashioned way, either via a web browser by drive-by downloading or as an attachment via a Phishing email.

The “Trojan” is then able to hide in the Web browser and once a user logs into their banking site, the “Trojan” is able to trigger an automatic transfer system, which moves money out of their account to another account within the same banking institution. This whole process is maneuvered in a way that the bank doesn’t immediately notice transfers.
“As long as a system remains infected with an ATS, its user will not be able to see the illegitimate transactions made from his/her accounts,” wrote Trend Micro researcher Loucif Kharouni. “This essentially brings to the fore automated online banking fraud because cybercriminals no longer need user intervention to obtain money.”

This “Trojan” has not hit U.S. shores — as of yet, that is. It’s difficult for Europeans to open accounts from overseas. The countries currently targeted are Britain, Italy and Germany. Nonetheless, it’s important to know that the U.S. isn’t out of the woods just yet. Fragile or weakening banking verifications currently in place, along with old variants, make it an enticing and profitable market for cyber-criminals worldwide.

Written by IT Support and IT Consulting Professionals at FedSolutions.  Thanks for stopping by!