Criminals have had great success stealing money from about 2 million people through “phishing scams.” People have gotten taken through phony e-mails that appear to come from their bank, brokerage firm or other company. Well, the banks and financial houses have put some effort into stopping these scams, so the criminals have moved on to a new target – community credit unions. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there have been 21 attacks on these financial institutions in the past few weeks. So, if you get an e-mail from your credit union, it’s possible that it’s bogus. Another scam out there is using the logo of the credit card industry trade association, CUNA. Hundreds of millions of these e-mails have been sent around the country, and the organization has had to hire six extra workers to handle the load. If you get an e-mail, don’t respond. If you’ve already responded and you suspect it’s a scam, you must contact your bank or credit union immediately. You’ll have to go in and fill out dispute forms. In other news, you may have heard about the security breech at Citigroup. About 4 million people had their information stolen in what is being called the largest self-inflicted breech so far. Citigroup transmitted the records of 4 million people without encrypting it, and the company took it’s time doing something about it. So, your information could be in the hands of criminals. Citi Financial is sending you a letter and so far, all they are offering is a meager 90 days of credit monitoring. That’s an insult. Clark thinks Citigroup should take responsibility and pay for any lost money. In 2005, it’s hard to believe that a financial institution is not encrypting information. There should be a law!