You may have all heard about a type of fraud known as ‘card skimming.’ This is the illegal copying of information from the magnetic strip of a credit or ATM card by a device that has been illegally attached to an ATM or EFTPOS terminal.

But if you’re like me things like ‘card skimming’ always happens to other people…..which is why I wanted to warn you

Recently a card skimming incident was confirmed local area at Toronto (thankfully this wasn’t one of our members or ATM’s), as the ATM and IT manager here at Companion Credit Union I wanted to make you aware that this type of fraud is creeping into the Hunter region so you can protect your card details better.

This fraud is achieved by placing a card reader on the outside of the card slot on an ATM so that when you insert your card into the ATM it passes the skimmer stuck to the card slot of the ATM and the data on your card is read by the skimming device. This device is able to store or transmit your details to the fraudsters who then create a fake or ‘cloned’ card with your details on it. The scammer is then able to run up charges on your account.

It always pays to be alert, ensure that your local ATM looks as it normally does, that there are no additional features on the front of the ATM and in particular no brochure holders stuck to the side of the ATM where a small camera could be concealed.

If in doubt call your financial institution and report your findings, keep a close eye on your statements or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

You can also read more about fraud at Scamwatch a government run website.

Examples of card skimming devices;

Kind Regards
David Willcox
Manager Business and Information Systems

March 30th, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

We have had some terrific stories contributed to our website on customer service provided by Companion Credit Union to our members.

Money Magazine is currently holding its annual awards for the 2009 Service Excellence Award.

If you know that Companion is worthy for this prestigious award please nominate us by filling in this quick survey form. It only takes about 2 mins and is a great way to thank a hard working team,

Click here for the nomination form

Mark Bramley
Executive Manager Member Services

March 25th, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Having been in the finance industry for more than 39 years I have seen many changes – Rural, Venture capital, Cash flow lending and security lending or for a better term Mortgage lending, just to name a few. At this time I am not going to bore you with the differences.

Deregulation of the Finance industry, and most importantly for Australia, the establishment of APRA. (Australia Prudential Regulation Authority), in some ways has protected the Australian borrowers from the situation that has occurred and continues to have an effect overseas. This is especially true within Credit Union’s I can’t see why the same scrutiny has not been afforded to the store credit industry that has flourished in today’s market.

Enough of that, what I would especially like to address are a couple of ways that I have managed changes which have taken place over the past 9 years in the time I have been an employee of Companion Credit Union. Change in any institution is not always greeted with enthusiasm by all staff, but true to Companion Credit Union values I believe that teamwork is the best approach to change management. In a competitive and volatile market, we as an institution need to give excellence in customer service. It would serve us all well to remember that our core business is Finance and Investment.

The success of any enterprise is the capability of its staff to communicate – my preferred method is face to face. I like to interact with people, listen to their views and hopefully find ways that Companion Credit Union can help with their financial success. I believe that it is always important to find the strength of each individual, this is especially true with our staff, by identifying our individual strengths and work on our weaknesses, we are able to give our members the best service available. It is surprising how much more you can develop a relationship – be it with a customer or a staff member – when in a face to face situation.

2009 Gunnedah Business & Service Awards

On Saturday night 14 March I, along with Jan & Sandra and our partners attended a very successful Gunnedah Business and Service Awards night hosted by the Gunnedah District Development Board Inc. Jan Snape was nominated for the Customer Service Award – Individual.

Jan was among 50 individual nominees and prior to the night this list had been culled down to 14 finalists, Jan was among that final list. On the night Jan was awarded first place. It was pleasing to be part of the night and my congratulations go to Jan and I must add we were impressed with Jan’s acceptance speech. We had an extra bonus on the night – our Muswellbrook Branch Manager Dario and his band provided the Music (Kyda Rock).

They say a picture speaks a 1000 words and the attached photo says it all …

(Jan – it was Sandra’s idea for the nomination – I just acted upon it and left it up to your fellow staff members and customers to do the voting !)

A strong and supportive team can provide that exceptional service we strive for in Companion Credit Union.

If you would like to discuss feel free to come and see me, my door is always open!

Peter Dutton
Area Manager
Gunnedah

March 18th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

I’d like to introduce you to Cessnock District VRA Rescue Squad; you’ve probably heard of them but may not be quite sure what service they provide to the local community.

All members of the squad are volunteers and receive absolutely no financial payment for their service. The squad is generally made up of around twenty accredited rescue operators and trainees as required. The squad is on call 24/7.

Coverage area is from F3 roundabout Beresfield, Buchanan, Freemans Waterhole, Kulnura, Wollombi, Pokolbin, Keinbah, Sawyers Gully, Cliftleigh and points in between. They have sheds at Cessnock and Kurri both housing a primary response rescue truck and a fully equipped 4wd.

The squad is called upon for transport accidents (planes, trains and automobiles), animal rescues, searches, inland waterway rescues, vertical rescues (cliffs etc), domestic and industrial rescues, storm and tempest response along with any assistance required by all other emergency services. They average between 100 and 200 call outs per year, however during events like the June2007 storm they attended more than that in 1 week.

The major point I would like to make about the squad is that they are primarily self funded (funds from community, businesses, grants and other duties) some corporate and government funding is received. The Cessnock District VRA Rescue Squad is widely regarded as one of the best equipped and trained rescue squads in NSW. There are many reasons for this, however the primary reason is due to the commitment and dedication of the volunteer members who strive to continually set the benchmark and provide the people in the Cessnock Shire with the best rescue service possible.

What I would ask is if you have been helped in anyway by the Squad let us know about it, we will display it here as a response, and most importantly when you see them providing car parking at all the major events in Cessnock and Pokolbin, drop a gold coin in the donation buckets or alternatively they do have money boxes in various businesses e.g. Cessnock – KFC, Video Ezy, BP Aberdare, Millfield – Paxton – West Cessnock and Bellbird Takeaways and at Kurri – KFC, Kurri Workers Club and BP Stanford Merthyr. Unfortunately we never know when we or a member of our family will need their assistance. I personally would like to thank them for “lending a helping hand, anywhere, anytime”.

Gail

March 2nd, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Being the Sys Admin for Companion, naturally my first blog entry would have to involve computers.There are a few factors when considering computer security and I’ll do my best to describe those that apply most to people at home.

Firstly backup, it is important. Your hard drive in your computer (where your files are stored) spins so fast that the slightest difference in pressure could destroy it completely… at ANY time and your pc’s hardware warranty won’t help to bring back your lost photos, music or email.

A backup solution can be as simple as buying an external hard drive and copying your critical files to it. Most of them actually come with backup software too; the Maxtor One Touch series comes to mind. With that, if something happens to your computer at least you have your critical files.

Secondly, Antivirus / Internet protection suites, they’re not all made equal. A well known vendor that covers not just viruses but other malware and updates their virus definitions at least daily is the safest way to go. Vendors are offering protection suites which include not only antivirus and antimalware but also a firewall (helps to stop bad guys getting in) among other useful tools that seems the way to go.

Thirdly, updates, when an operating system, or for that matter any program is released, it is imperfect. For this reason, the vendors release updates and patches whenever they discover and fix a potential issue. These issues could allow something malicious to effectively take over your PC or be something as simple as fixing a broken menu item.

Lastly, education and exposure, the more you are aware of any given threat, the more cautious you are and the less likely you are to have an issue. If you avoid dubious websites including those purporting to offer free copies of expensive software and avoid downloading pirated software (especially via peer to peer software like limewire) you will further reduce your chances of falling victim.

While this list is by no means complete there are so many aspects and IT security is a constantly moving target. I do hope that it may be of use to some of you though, please feel free to comment if you’d like to add to the discussion.

Thanks,
Adam Currie
Systems Administrator
Companion Credit Union

March 2nd, 2009 | Leave a Comment »