OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Positive Networks offers a product called PhoneFactor that allows credit unions to offer members protection even if they fall victim to a phishing attack.
PhoneFactor connects members Internet log in with a phone line so that when a member goes to log into an online account the phone will ring. The member then has to enter either a PIN or press the pound button in order to be logged into the account online. PhoneFactor can work with either a cell phone or a land-line phone.
If a member is a victim of a phishing attack at the credit union or a criminal gets a hold of the account information, they would have to have the member's phone physically with them as well in order to log into their account.
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"It is our responsibility to continually monitor and implement additional safeguards to protect our members' information," said Tom Theune, president/CEO for Jeffco Credit Union, a PhoneFactor client. "PhoneFactor was the best solution for our needs. It is fast, easy to deploy and is unobtrusive to our members."
PhoneFactor also allows a credit union to know instantaneously if fraud is being attempted on a members account.
"If you're not logging into your account and you get a phone call, that means someone has your correct user name and password. You can press star and your account is automatically locked and the credit unions fraud department is instantaneously notified," said Chris Marshall, senior vice president of sales for PhoneFactor.
Having this feature allows fraud departments to watch that account as its being attacked and watch the hackers IP address as they're trying to log in, Marshall said.
PhoneFactor has approximately 12 credit union clients and has different versions of the software available.
For example, credit unions can chose to have PhoneFactor operate on a transaction basis where members will receive a phone call when a transaction on their account has occurred and they can verify the transaction or stop it and mark it as fraud.
Marshall said credit unions also have the option to choose how they wish to deploy the service to members. They can have the service required for all members, they can have members opt into the service or have members opt out of it.
Marshall said back in March, Positive Networks had HarrisInteractive conduct a consumer poll to see the response to PhoneFactor. Out of 1,500 respondents, 48% said they would be extremely or very interested getting PhoneFactor service from their financial institution, and 93% indicated some level of interest. Also, 20% of those surveyed said that they would be extremely or very interested in getting PhoneFactor from their financial institution for $3.95 per month.
"Financial institutions can chose to not charge at all for PhoneFactor, which is what Jeffco did, and $3.95 is a much higher figure than what PhoneFactor actually costs, it's a very inexpensive product," Marshall said.
Of those surveyed, 34% also said that having the PhoneFactor service would be a driver that would make them switch financial institutions.
"We've received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Most fraud protection products are all after the fact, they stop the criminals from buying something else, but they've already bought the Ferrari," Marshall said.
A demonstration of how PhoneFactor works is available online at www.phonefactor.com.
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