Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
R E V E R B E R A T I O N S R E V E R B E R AT I O N S
November 2007
Vol. XII No. 11
Accept Discover Cards?
You Now Can Accept JCB Cards Too!
This is good news for those of you who currently accept Discover cards. All ECHO merchants that subscribe to the
Discover Network will now be able to accept JCB branded cards thanks to a recent business arrangement. If you
are unfamiliar with the JCB card brand, it is a card used heavily by travelers from Asia as well as travelers who visit
Asian countries on a regular basis.
Fortunately, merchants who accept Discover cards will not have to make any POS changes to process JCB
transactions. You will be able to accept JCB branded cards and be billed similar to your regular Discover transactions
with the same fees.
Be aware that when you do process a JCB transaction, it will still appear as a JCB transaction on your terminal receipt
and terminal reports. ECHO will be making the necessary changes in the future to reference the JCB transactions
as Discover Card transactions.
Not accepting Discover cards yet Please call us at 800-262-3246 ext. 5 for more information.
Phishers Busy Casting Bait
An unfortunate trend has been identified in online fraud reports from September. Among 200 worldwide
financial institutions that are currently being monitored, the number of phishing attacks rose 12% from August
to September. The number of attacks went from 8,583 to 9,621.
For those of you who have trouble keeping up with the various forms of fraud being perpetrated
these days, phishing is a scam that uses fraudulent e-mail that looks legitimate as a way to entice
consumers into divulging personal information. The stolen information can later be used for identity
theft to raid a bank account and to steal the victim's identity.
This increase in attacks is being attributed to the "Rock Phish" group. It is unknown whether "Rock
Phish" is made up of a single person or a group, but security researchers believe they are responsible
for as many as half of all phishing attacks on the web. Their primary targets are European and
U.S. financial institutions.
What's especially concerning about this group is their ability to stay one step
ahead of both security products and law enforcement. This slows down the process
of detecting an attack which in turn prolongs the duration of their phishing campaigns.
To date, it is estimated that this criminal organization has cost banks more than $100
million.
All of this means that we must be diligently watchful of suspicious e-mail. If you receive
an e-mail with an unbelievable offer, bad spelling or grammar, or a request for personal
information, make certain it is legitimate before you do anything. Also, be careful that
you never unintentionally send your customers a phishing e-mail.
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Electronic Clearing House, Inc.
730 Paseo Camarillo
Camarillo, California 93010
1-805-419-8700
www.echo-inc.com
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Where can I learn about PCI DSS?
As a brief reminder, PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. These standards were
created to protect cardholder information. If you would like more information on PCI DSS, please visit our web page
devoted to this very topic at www.echo-inc.com/pci.
Beyond that, there is a wealth of information available on the Internet. An excellent list of resources is available
from The National Federation of Independent Business at www.nfib.org.
If you have PCI related questions, you can always call our security representatives at 1-800-262-3246, ext. 4.
ECHO Welcomes Keith B. Hall to Their Board of Directors
ECHO announced on October 17, the addition of Keith B. Hall to their Board of Directors. Mr. Hall will serve on
the Audit, Compensation and Governance, and Nominating Committee of the Board.
With 30 years of experience in financial analysis, accounting, investor relations, strategic planning, process redesign
and international operations, Mr. Hall has much to contribute.
His most recent position, prior to retiring, was that of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lending
Tree, Inc. Mr. Hall currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as well as the
Board of Directors of NewRiver, Inc., a private Internet company serving the mutual fund industry.
ECHO
Celebrates
Customer Support
Week
During the week of October 1, ECHO celebrated "Customer Service Week" along with many other companies
nationwide.
This was an opportunity for ECHO to review their current processes, train staff, and gain feedback from the team
on what they think would assist in improving the service that we provide to our customers.
In addition to the training, there was lots of food and lots of fun. The week began with balloons and donuts,
and on the serious side, a group training session. This was the first time in ECHO history that all customer service
representatives were taken off the phone at one time for training. The management team manned the phones during
that hour so for any of you that called, we apologize (just kidding!). The week ended with Customer Service providing
cake for the entire company to thank them for their diligent support in meeting our customers' needs.
ECHO takes its service very seriously, and each week sends 50 surveys to merchants who have called that week to
determine if the call met their needs. We take the feedback that you provide very seriously and use it as a means
to continually improve our service.
One of our overall goals is to answer your calls within 10 seconds. We do this more than 85% of the time, beating
industry standards.
We look forward to continuing to provide you with service that exceeds your expectations!
Thank You,
The Customer Service Management Team
ECHO merchants process on the Electronic Clearing House, Inc. (ECHO) network. ECHO is a publicly owned company trading on NASDAQ under
the symbol "ECHO". ECHO provides thousands of merchants with reliable processing of bank cards and checks. Merchants are sponsored by FIRST
REGIONAL BANK, Agoura Hills, CA (800-777-0929). Member FDIC.