The IC3 has received complaints reporting cybercriminals are targeting the online payroll accounts of employees in a variety of industries. Institutions most affected are education, healthcare, and commercial airway transportation.

METHODOLOGIES

Cybercriminals target employees through phishing emails designed to capture an employee’s login credentials. Once the cybercriminal has obtained an employee’s credentials, the credentials are used to access the employee’s payroll account in order to change their bank account information. Rules are added by the cybercriminal to the employee’s account preventing the employee from receiving alerts regarding direct deposit changes. Direct deposits are then changed and redirected to an account controlled by the cybercriminal, which is often a prepaid card.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To mitigate the threat of payroll diversion:

• Alert and educate your workforce about this scheme, including preventative strategies and appropriate reactive measures should a breach occur.
• Instruct employees to hover their cursor over hyperlinks included in emails they receive to view the actual URL. Ensure the URL is actually related to or associated with the company it purports to be from.
• Instruct employees to refrain from supplying log-in credentials or personally identifying information in response to any email.
• Direct employees to forward suspicious requests for personal information to the information technology or human resources department.
• Ensure that log-in credentials used for payroll purposes differ from those used for other purposes, such as employee surveys.
• Apply heightened scrutiny to bank information initiated by employees seeking to update or change direct deposit credentials.
• Monitor employee logins that occur outside normal business hours.
• Restrict access to the Internet on systems handling sensitive information or implement two-factor authentication for access to sensitive systems and information.
• Only allow required processes to run on systems handling sensitive information.

VICTIM REPORTING

The FBI encourages victims to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to their local FBI field office, and file a complaint with the IC3 at www.ic3.gov. If your complaint pertains to this particular scheme, then please note payroll diversion in the body of the complaint.

CVSA Releases 2018 International Roadcheck Results   Greenbelt, Maryland (Sept. 12, 2018) – Commercial motor vehicle enforcement personnel throughout Canada and the United States conducted 67,502 roadside inspections on large trucks and buses as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) International Roadcheck inspection and enforcement initiative, June 5-7, 2018.   From all inspections, inspectors identified 11,897 vehicles with out-of-service conditions and 2,664 drivers with out-of-service conditions. Of the North American Standard (NAS) Level I Inspections conducted, 21.6 percent of commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service. Of all NAS Level I, II and III Inspections, 3.9 percent of drivers inspected were placed out of service.   During an inspection, if an inspector identifies critical inspection items on a vehicle with specific violations, he or she will render the vehicle out of service, which means mechanical defects must be corrected in order for the vehicle to be permitted to proceed. A driver found to be in violation of the conditions in the out-of-service criteria, will be placed out of service until the condition can be rectified.   International Roadcheck is a three-day enforcement event when CVSA-certified inspectors conduct large-scale, high-visibility roadside inspections of commercial trucks and buses and their drivers. These inspections occurred at inspection sites, weigh stations and roving patrol locations along roadways throughout the 72-hour enforcement initiative.   Each year, special emphasis is placed on a certain category of violations. This year’s focus was on hours-of-service compliance. Since the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate went into effect on Dec. 18, 2017, throughout the United States, with CVSA's NAS Out-of-Service Criteria effective April 1, 2018, this year’s International Roadcheck, held two months after out-of-service enforcement began, served as the perfect opportunity to highlight the importance of hours-of-service regulations and compliance.   Hours-of-service violations represented 43.7 percent of all driver out-of-service conditions; however, of the total number of inspections conducted during International Roadcheck, less than 2 percent of drivers were placed out of service for hours-of-service violations.   CVSA pulled and analyzed data from the three days of International Roadcheck from the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and pooled that data with data collected and submitted by CVSA’s Canadian jurisdictions to report overall statistics from Canada and the United States for 2018 International Roadcheck. A total of 67,502 Level I, II and III Inspections were conducted. 21.6 percent of commercial motor vehicles that received Level I Inspections were placed out of service; 3.9 percent of drivers who received a Level I, II or III Inspection were placed out of service. There were 15,981 vehicle out-of-service conditions; 3,035 driver out-of-service conditions; and 211 hazardous materials/dangerous goods (HM/DG) out-of-service conditions. The majority of inspections (45,400) were NAS Level I Inspections. A Level I Inspection is a 37-step procedure that includes examination of driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness. Other inspections conducted included the NAS Level II Walk-Around Inspection (11,458) and the NAS Level III Driver-Only Inspection (10,644). The top vehicle out-of-service conditions were for brake systems (4,536), tires and wheels (3,058) and brake adjustment (2,612). The top driver out-of-service conditions were for hours of service (1,326), wrong class license (648) and false record of duty status (308). 736 motorcoaches were inspected. 60,321 inspections were conducted in the United States; 7,181 inspections were conducted in Canada. Of all vehicle violations, vehicle-related results are as follows: 21.6 percent (9,819) of vehicles that had a Level I Inspection conducted (45,400) were placed out of service for vehicle-related violations. The top three out-of-service vehicle violations were for brake systems (28.4 percent), tires and wheels (19.1 percent) and brake adjustment (16.3 percent). Of the vehicles carrying HM/DG that had a Level I or II Inspection conducted, the vehicle out-of-service rate was 13.1 percent. Of all HM/DG out-of-service vehicle violations, the top three were for loading (25.6 percent), other HM (21.3 percent) and shipping papers (19.9 percent). Brake adjustment and brake system violations combined to represent 44.7 percent (7,148) of all out-of-service vehicle violations. 9.4 percent of the motorcoaches that received a Level I Inspection were placed out of service for vehicle violations. Of all driver violations, driver-related results are as follows: 3.9 percent (2,664) of drivers who received a Level I, II or III Inspection were placed out of service for driver-related violations. Of the drivers operating vehicles carrying HM/DG who were inspected, 1.7 percent were placed out of service for driver violations. 1.4 percent of the motorcoach/bus drivers who received a Level I, II or III Inspection were placed out of service for driver violations. Of all driver out-of-service conditions, the top three were for hours of service (43.7 percent), wrong class license (21.4 percent) and false record of duty status (10.1 percent). There were 729 safety belt violations. The specific out-of-service (OOS) percentage distributions (numbers indicate a percentage of the total out-of-service violations by category) from 2018 International Roadcheck are shown below:

 

Once violations of the regulations have been identified and documented on a roadside inspection report, roadside enforcement personnel use the CVSA NAS Out-of-Service Criteria as the pass-fail criteria for inspections.   If no violations of the critical vehicle inspection items are found during an eligible inspection, a CVSA decal will be applied as a visual indicator that the vehicle successfully passed inspection conducted by a CVSA-certified inspector. The NAS Level I Inspection and NAS Level V Vehicle-Only Inspections are the only inspections eligible for issuance of a CVSA decal.   Now in its 31st year, International Roadcheck is sponsored by CVSA, North America’s leading commercial motor vehicle safety enforcement organization, with participation by FMCSA, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced that it is seeking public comment on revising four specific areas of current hours-of-service (HOS) regulations, which limit the operating hours of commercial truck drivers.

The upcoming Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), which will be published in the Federal Register, responds to widespread Congressional, industry, and citizen concerns and seeks feedback from the public to determine if HOS revisions may alleviate unnecessary burdens placed on drivers while maintaining safety on our nation’s highways and roads.  The comment period will be open for 30 days.

The four specific areas under consideration for revision are:

• Expanding the current 100 air-mile “short-haul” exemption from 12 hours on-duty to 14 hours on-duty, in order to be consistent with the rules for long-haul truck drivers;
• Extending the current 14-hour on-duty limitation by up to two hours when a truck driver encounters adverse driving conditions;
• Revising the current mandatory 30-minute break for truck drivers after 8-hours of continuous driving; and
• Reinstating the option for splitting up the required 10-hour off-duty rest break for drivers operating trucks that are equipped with a sleeper-berth compartment.

In addition, the ANPRM seeks public comment and relevant data on two recently submitted petitions requesting regulatory relief from HOS rules (1) pertaining to the 14-hour on-duty limitation (filed by the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association) and (2) pertaining to the 10-hour off-duty requirement (filed by TruckerNation).

Earlier this year, the congressionally mandated electronic logging device (ELD) rule, which required most FMCSA-regulated motor carriers to convert their records from paper to an electronic format, became effective. While compliance with the ELD rule has reached nearly 99 percent across the trucking industry, it has also brought focus to HOS regulations, especially with regard to certain regulations having a significant impact on agriculture and other sectors of trucking.

Additional information on the ANPRM, including how to submit comments to the Federal Register docket, is available here.

The first in a series of public listening sessions on the ANPRM will take place Friday, August 24, 2018, in Dallas, Texas, at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time.  Further information is available here

Information on current HOS regulations is available here.

Information on electronic logging devices (ELDs) carried on-board long-haul trucks and used by commercial vehicle enforcement officers to check compliance with HOS regulations is available here.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today released the update to its renowned Crash Predictor Model, which statistically quantifies the likelihood of future crash involvement based on specific truck driving behaviors (e.g. prior crashes, violations and convictions).  

 ATRI's analysis draws on data from over 435,000 U.S. truck drivers over a two-year time frame to expose nearly a dozen behaviors that raise a driver's risk of being involved in a future truck crash by more than 50 percent.

 

"ATRI's Crash Predictor Model is a key input to our driver hiring and training practices.  Safety is our first concern and by understanding how driver histories relate to future crash probability, we can develop targeted solutions for minimizing safety risks," said John M. Prewitt, Tideport Distributing, Inc. President.   

 

Now in its third release, this latest ATRI crash predictor model includes analyses on the impact of age and gender on crash probability.  And to better understand the bottom line impacts of preventing crashes, this latest report includes industry average crash costs across six distinct crash types and severity.

 

Among the key findings from the Crash Predictor Model Update are: 

• The top two behaviors for predicting future crash involvement, each with more than 100% increased likelihood of a future crash, are a reckless driving violation and a failure to yield right of way violation.
• Prior crash involvement continues to have a statistically significant relationship to future crash involvement with a 74% increase of the likelihood of being in a future crash. 
• Women truck drivers were safer than male counterparts in every statistically significant safety behavior and men were 20% more likely to be involved in a crash than women.
• Several stable behaviors have emerged across all three ATRI Crash Predictor Models (2005, 2011 and 2018) as statistically significant predictors of future crash involvement including convictions for improper lane/location, reckless/careless/inattentive/negligent driving and improper or erratic lane change.

Understanding that traffic enforcement, particularly those activities that target the crash predictor behaviors, is an effective tool for mitigating crashes, ATRI also provides a list of "top tier" states which emphasizes those states that have proven track records of maximizing their enforcement resources while minimizing their share of the nation's truck crashes.  Indiana tops that list, followed by New Mexico, Washington, California and Maryland.

 

A copy of this report is available from ATRI at TruckingResearch.org.

The New Jersey Motor Truck Association (“NJMTA”) has announced that the exclusive NJMTA Buyers’ Guide (the “Guide”) — the premier resource of relevant products and services for trucking professionals — is now available at the NJMTA website at www.njmta.wildapricot.org.

NJMTA partnered with Overland Park, Kan.-based Strategic Value Media, a leading nationwide provider of print and digital media solutions for national, state and local trade and membership associations, to produce the Guide. NJMTA is proud to provide its members with this useful and easily accessible year-round resource. 

“This comprehensive Guide offers access to a vast network of industry suppliers,” said Gail Toth, Executive Director of NJMTA. “We are very pleased with the fine work SVM has done with this Guide, which we anticipate will now greatly assist industry professionals in making educated purchasing decisions throughout the year. The response to this Guide by the industry has been nothing short of outstanding.”  

The 2018 version of the Guide features updated and expanded company and product listings, in addition to other valuable information relating to the trucking industry. The Guide provides NJMTA members and other industry professionals with an efficient way to browse for goods and services. The Guide also offers trucking suppliers and companies exceptional visibility by showcasing their products and services to a targeted, industry-specific buyer group.

If your company or business has not yet taken advantage of this exceptional opportunity to highlight your products and services in the Guide, it is not too late! To learn more about advertising your products or services in this exclusive Guide, please email  njmta-advertise@svmmedia.com.

PA Turnpike Commission Approves Toll Increase for 2019

Six percent increase for all vehicles will start Jan. 6 next year.

 

HARRISBURG, PA. (July 3, 2018) — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) at its bimonthly meeting today approved a six percent toll increase for 2019 both for E-ZPass and cash customers; the increase is set to start at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2019.

The toll increase will apply to all PA Turnpike sections and extensions, including the westbound Delaware River Bridge cashless tolling point (#359) in Bucks County, where tolls have not changed since January 2016.

Because of today’s action, the most-common toll for a passenger vehicle will increase next year from $1.30 to $1.38 for E-ZPass customers and from $2.10 to $2.25 for cash customers. The cashless toll at the westbound Delaware River Bridge will increase from $5.00 to $5.30 for E-ZPass customers and from $6.75 to $7.20 for those who use PA Turnpike TOLL-BY-PLATE. The most common toll for a Class-5 tractor-trailer truck will increase from $3.45 to $3.66 for E-ZPass and from $15.35 to $16.30 for cash. (Note, truckers in this class who use E-ZPass tend to take shorter trips than those who pay with cash or PA Turnpike TOLL-BY-PLATE).

The 2019 toll increase — like previous annual toll increases — is required to meet the PTC’s funding obligations as well as maintaining and improving the 552-mile PA Turnpike system.

“Since 2009, the PTC has increased tolls annually to make good on a funding obligation required by a 2007 state law known as Act 44,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “Under that law, the commission has delivered $6.1 billion in toll-backed funding to PennDOT in the last 11 years.”

During the initial three years of this legal obligation — 2007 to 2009 — the PTC transferred $750 million, $850 million and $900 million respectively to PennDOT. Beginning 2010 through today, its directive has been $450 million annually.

Compton said the increase will also support efforts to manage the asset the PTC was assigned to build, operate and maintain in the mid 1930s — the PA Turnpike.

“Parts of our tollway will soon turn 78 years old, and we owe it to toll-paying customers to continue to invest in our road to make it safer, smoother and wider,” Compton said. “This year, about 84 percent of our $552 million capital budget is focused on renewing, rebuilding and widening our highway system which last year carried more than 200 million vehicles.”

The PTC has thus far reconstructed more than 132 miles of its system, with another 19 miles of roadway now being rebuilt and widened and more than 82 miles currently in planning and design phases. (The PTC does not receive tax appropriations to operate and maintain its roadway.)

The commission will post a 2019 trip calculator and toll schedule online later this summer. Visit https://www.paturnpike.com/toll/tollmileage.aspx

Family car trips are a summer standard. This year, because Independence Day falls mid-week, many travelers are starting well in advance and may be taking longer distance car trips. The PA Turnpike is estimating that 5.8 million vehicles will be on the roadway system beginning Friday, June 29 and concluding Sunday, July 8. 

“Traveling during a holiday can be risky for a number of reasons. We want our travelers to have a safe trip and we have planned accordingly,” says Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “We ask that motorists also plan ahead. Be aware that additional traffic may mean more traffic accidents. Pay careful attention and take regular breaks.”

The significant daily traffic breakdown is as follows:

• June 29 –750,000 vehicles are expected to travel the system;
• July 3 -- 650,000 vehicles are expected to travel the system;
• July 5 -- 650,000 vehicles are expected to travel the system;
• July 6 – 700,000 vehicles are expected to travel the system.  

Friday afternoons are likely to be peak travel times. The less travelled days will be July 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 if you wish to plan accordingly.

The PA Turnpike will be conducting safety breaks at high traffic service plazas during this holiday period. Breaks, which are slated to inform and assist motorists, will occur from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Sideling Hill Service Plaza on June 30, and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Allentown Service Plaza on July 6. Specially designed chalk art, which features work zone safety images, also will be on display.      

Pennsylvania State Police “Troup T” will also have additional patrols on duty during this time. “On average, more people die in motor vehicle crashes on Independence Day than any other day of the year,” says Cpl. Holly Reber-Billings. "There's a high incidence of alcohol use, which sharply raises the risk of crashing.  There are more people on the roads, and drivers may be navigating in unfamiliar areas. Pay attention to your surroundings not your cell phone. Texting and driving is dangerous, comes with harsh penalties and can be deadly.”

To help accommodate heavier holiday traffic, the Turnpike will suspend maintenance and construction work and have all available lanes open in each direction beginning 5 a.m. on Friday, June 29 through 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 8, with the exception of the Delaware River Bridge Exit 359, in Bristol Township, Bucks County. The westbound, right lane will be closed from 8 p.m. on Friday, June 29 through 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 1 for planned tolling equipment maintenance.

Motorists are also reminded to “Move Over” or “Steer Clear” when coming upon emergency vehicles including tow trucks stopped to provide assistance on the roadway.  This is required by law to protect those stranded or working close to traffic. If you cannot move over safely, you should slow down and travel at a safe speed. 

To report an accident or other emergency on the PA Turnpike, dial *11 via mobile phone. To learn more about PA Turnpike conditions or to contact us, use one of these resources:

 

ON THE PA TURNPIKE

·        Variable & Digital Message Signs — nearly 100 signs along the Turnpike

·        Highway Advisory Radio — 1640 AM (tune-in near interchanges)

BY PHONE

·        Turnpike Roadway Information Program (toll-free) — 866-976-TRIP (8747)

·        Customer Assistance Center (toll-free) — 800-331-3414 (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)

ON THE WEB

·        TRIPTalk — free, travel-alert smartphone app; download at https://www.paturnpike.com/travel/trip_talk.aspx

·        Travel Conditions Map — live, interactive conditions map; view at https://www.paturnpike.com/webmap

·        Waze  — a crowd-sourced navigation app that provides real-time traffic conditions with input from other drivers; download at https://www.waze.com

 

 

FMCSA Electronic Logging Device (ELD) 

Support Information  

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has updated their website to provide a centralized location for its ELD Support email inboxes. The update includes the centralization of the following email inboxes:

• General Information: For general information regarding electronic logging devices (ELD) or automatic on-board recording devices (AOBRD), please review our frequently asked questions (FAQs). If your question is not addressed in the FAQs, submit your question to FMCSA at ELD@dot.gov.
• Agricultural Operations: For additional information on agricultural operations, including new agricultural commodity compliance diagrams, please visit our website or email us at agricultural@dot.gov.

ELD Malfunctions Extension Requests: 

If you would like to file an ELD malfunction extension request per 49 CFR part 395.34 by email, please submit your extension request to ELD-Extension@dot.gov. Include the legal name, principal place of business address and USDOT number of the motor carrier.  To request an extension from the FMCSA Division Administrator in the Field Office in your state, you may contact the office directly. FMCSA Division Administrator contact information can be found here.

Electronic Logging Device HOS Violation Information Graphic

FMCSA has posted an informational graphic that tracks daily and weekly HOS violation information.  https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/enforcement/electronic-logging-device-information-graphic

Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Frequently Asked Questions: The ELD Frequently Asked Questions have been updated with questions that address Non-compliant drivers and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Out of Service Criteria, Malfunctioning Automatic Onboard Recording Devices (AOBRD), and Malfunctioning AOBRD extension requests

If you have additional questions, please click here.  

CVSA-certified enforcement personnel will conduct roadside inspections on commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week, Sept. 16-22, in order to identify and remove CMVs with critical brake violations from our roadways and to call attention to the dangers of faulty brake systems.

 

Properly functioning brake systems are crucial to safe CMV operation. Brakes must be routinely inspected and carefully and consistently maintained so they operate and perform to the manufacturer's specifications throughout the life of the vehicle. Improperly installed or poorly maintained brake systems can reduce braking efficiency, posing serious risk to public safety on our roadways.

 

Data and research are clear:

• According to the U.S Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck Crash Causation (LTCC) Study, 32.7 percent of large trucks with pre-crash violations had brake problems.
• Brake-related violations comprised the largest percentage of out-of-service vehicle violations cited during last year’s International Roadcheck.
• The LTCC Study’s relative risk analysis indicated that large trucks involved in a crash where the braking capacity of the truck was critical were 50 percent more likely to have a brake violation than were trucks involved in crashes where the truck's braking capacity was not critical.
• According to the LTCC Study, of the trucks involved in brake-critical crashes, 45.5 percent had brake violations, compared with 29.9 percent of trucks involved in crashes of the same type where the braking was not relevant.
• Results from last year’s Brake Safety Day found that 14 percent of all inspections conducted during that one-day brake safety initiative resulted in a CMV being placed out of service for brake-related violations.

Brake Safety Week aims to reduce the number of crashes caused by poorly maintained braking systems on CMVs by conducting roadside mechanical fitness inspections and removing dangerous vehicles from our roadways.

 

In addition to inspections and enforcement, outreach efforts by law enforcement agencies to educate drivers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake maintenance, operation and performance are integral to the success of the safety initiative.

 

During Brake Safety Week, inspectors will primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection, which is a 37-step procedure that includes an examination of driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness. Inspections conducted will include inspection of brake-system components to identify loose or missing parts; air or hydraulic fluid leaks; defective rotor conditions; measurement of pushrod travel; mismatched air chamber sizes across axles; air reservoir integrity and mounting; worn linings, pads, drums or rotors; required brake-system warning devices; and other brake-system components. Vehicles with defective or out-of-adjustment brakes will be placed out of service.

 

In addition, in the 12 jurisdictions using performance-based brake testing (PBBT) equipment, vehicle braking efficiency will be measured. PBBTs measure the cumulative brake force for the entire vehicle and divide it by the total vehicle weight to determine overall vehicle braking efficiency. The minimum braking efficiency for trucks is 43.5 percent, required by 393.52 of the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the CVSA North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria.

 

Brake Safety Week is part of the Operation Airbrake Program, sponsored by CVSA in partnership with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) customers are advised that the Plainfield Inspection Facility, located at 1600 South Second Street, will permanently close at the end of business (noon) on Saturday, June 30, 2018.

Customers may choose to use the following nearby State Inspection Facilities:

Kilmer Inspection Facility 33 Kilmer Road Edison, NJ 08817

Rahway Inspection Facility 1140 Woodbridge Rd & East Hazelwood Ave Rahway, NJ 07065

Alternate inspection locations may be found by visiting:
http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/inspection/inspecthow.htm.

State inspection facility hours of operation are:

Monday – Friday Saturday

8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 7:00 a.m. to Noon

 

Further customer information is available by calling (888) NJ-MOTOR.