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Your security is very important to us. Here at Western Reserve
Bank, we want to provide tools and resources to help prevent identity
theft and educate you on security. We hope that this section of
the website will be a constantly changing and evolving resource
for our customers to go to in the ongoing fight against identity
theft. Please return to this section of the website whenever you
need to and feel free to call us if you have any questions.
CONSUMER ALERT: Don’t fall victim to
Online Scams
Current the two most common forms of Online Scams are called “Phishing”
and ‘Spoofing”.
What is “Phishing”? (FISHing)
Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages
to attempt to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers,
bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, and/or
other sensitive information. The persons involved in this scam lead
you to believe that the request is from legitimate companies.
What is “Spoofing”?
Pretending to be something it is not, on the Internet, usually
an email or a Website.
How to report Phishing:
We suggest reporting phishing emails or spoofed Websites to the
following groups:
- Forward the email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org.
- Forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission
at spam@uce.gov.
- Forward the email to the “abuse”
email address at the company that is being spoofed (example: spoof@ebay.com)
- When forwarding spoofed messages, always include
the entire original email with its original header information
intact.
- Notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center of
the FBI by filing a complaint on their website at www.ic3.gov.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS IF YOU’VE BECOME A VICTIM OF
A PHISHING SCAM
If You Have Given Out Your Credit, Debit, or ATM Card Information
- Report the incident to the card issuer as quickly
as possible.
- Report using toll-free numbers and 24-hour
service that many companies have established to deal with such
emergencies.
- Request your card issuer close your compromised
account number and reissue you a new card with a different number.
- Monitor your account activity and review account
statements carefully after the information loss.
- If any unauthorized charges appear, call the
card issuer immediately and follow up with a hard copy letter
via a traditional delivery service such as the U.S. Postal Service
(keep a copy for yourself) describing each questionable charge.
Credit Card Loss or Fraudulent Charges
Your maximum liability under federal law for unauthorized use of
your credit card is generally $50. However, that $50 potential liability
probably does not apply for unauthorized telephone and Internet
transactions because there is “no means to identify the cardholder”
in those cases.
Under federal regulations, the consumer must mail a notice about
a billing error, which includes unauthorized transactions, no later
than 60 days after the card issuer sent the first statement containing
the unauthorized transaction in order to trigger the billing error
procedure provisions. The notice must contain information that allows
the card issuer to identify the account name and number and the
type, date, and amount of the unauthorized transaction.
Once the card issuer receives the notice, it must deliver written
acknowledgement within 30 days of receipt, assuming the issue has
not been resolved beforehand. The card issuer must resolve the matter
and notify the consumer within two complete billing cycles (but
not later than 90 days) after receiving the notice of the unauthorized
transaction.
Until resolution of the claim, the consumer need not pay the amount
or any related charges, such as finance charges, nor can the creditor
report or threaten to report the consumer to a credit bureau or
anyone else.
ATM or Debit Card Loss or Fraudulent Transfers
- Your liability under federal law for unauthorized
use of your ATM or debit card depends on how quickly you report
the loss.
- You risk unlimited loss if you fail to report
an unauthorized transfer within 60 days after your bank statement
containing unauthorized use is mailed to your for transaction
made after that 60-day period.
If You Have Given Out Your Bank Account Information
- Report the theft of this information to the
bank as quickly as possible.
- Request your bank close the compromised account
and re-open a like account with a different number.
If You Have Downloaded a Virus or “Trojan Horse”
Some phishing attacks use viruses and/or “Trojan Horses”
to install programs called “key loggers” on your computer.
These programs capture and send out any information that you type
to the phisher, including credit card numbers, user names and passwords,
Social Security numbers, etc. If this happens, it’s likely
you may not be aware of it until you notice unusual transactions
on your account.
To minimize this risk, you should:
- Install and/or update antivirus and personal
firewall software.
- Install and/or update anti-spyware software.
- Update all virus definitions and run a full
scan.
- If your system appears to have been compromised,
repair it and then change your password again, since you may well
have transmitted the new one to the hacker.
- Check your other accounts! The fraudsters may
have helped themselves to many different accounts: eBay account,
PayPal, your email ISP, online bank accounts, online trading accounts
and other e-commerce accounts, and everything else for which you
use online passwords.
If you have given out your personal identification information
If you believe you have given out personal information such as
your name, address, and Social Security number to someone who may
use it for fraud:
Contact the three major credit reporting agencies – Experian,
Equifax, and TransUnion – and do the following:
- Request that the agencies place a fraud alert
and a victim’s statement in your file.
- Request a free copy of your credit report to
check whether any accounts were opened without your consent.
- Request that the agencies remove inquiries and/or
fraudulent accounts stemming from the theft.
MAJOR CREDIT BUREAUS
Equifax – www.equifax.com
- To order your report, call 800-685-1111 or write
to: Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241.
- To report fraud, call 800-525-6285 and write
to: Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241.
- Hearing impaired call 1-800-255-0056 and ask
the operator to call the Auto Disclosure Line at 1-800-685-1111
to request a copy of your report.
Experian – www.experian.com
- To order your report, call 888-397-3742 or write
to: Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013.
- To report fraud, call 888-397-3742 and write
to: Experian, P.O. Box 9530, Allen TX 75013. TDD: 1800-972-0322.
TransUnion – www.transunion.com
- To order your report, call 800-888-4213 or write
to: TransUnion, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.
- To report fraud, call 800-680-7289 and write
to: TransUnion, Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790,
Fullerton, CA 92634. TDD: 1-877-553-7803.
You may also order a free credit report from all three bureaus
on an annual basis by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.
ADDITIONAL ACTIONS TO TAKE
- If bank accounts were set up without your consent,
close them.
- Contact your local police department to file
a criminal report.
- Contact the Social Security Administration Fraud
Hotline to report the unauthorized use of your personal identification
information.
- Notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of your
identify theft.
- Check to see whether an unauthorized driver’s
license number has been issued in your name.
- Notify the passport office to be on the lookout
for anyone ordering a passport in your name.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Ask for a free copy of “ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen
In Your Good Name,” a guide that will help you guard against
and recover from your theft – and guard against it in the
future.
- File a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint
Center (IC3) by visiting their website: www.ic3.gov.
IC3 is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), with
a mission to address fraud committed over the Internet. For victims
of Internet fraud, the Center provides a convenient and easy-to-use
reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal
or civil violation.
- Document the names and phone numbers of everyone
you speak to regarding the incident. Follow up all phone calls
with letters. Keep copies of all correspondence.
IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCES
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
http://www.identity-theft-help.us/
http://www.identitytheft.org/
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html
http://www.ic3.gov
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm
HOW TO PRACTICE SAFE COMPUTING
The number and sophistication of phishing and spoofing scams sent
out to consumers is continuing to increase dramatically. While online
banking is widely considered to be as safe as or safer than in-branch
or ATM banking, as a general rule you should be careful about giving
out your personal financial information over the Internet. Remember,
no reputable financial institution will ever request your personal
information via email.
Here is a list of recommendations to follow in order to avoid becoming
a victim of scams:
- Never save your password to your desktop.
Saving your password to your desktop may seem like a timesaver
but it allows others to access your personal information without
your permission.
- How personal is your password?
Avoid using passwords that are relevant to your personal situation.
Passwords with your phone number, date of birth, or social security
number are often gateways to disaster. Create passwords that contain
letters and numbers that cannot be easily attributable to you.
Change your password every 60 days or as often as your feel comfortable.
Remember: The longer the password, the harder it is to break it.
Use plenty of upper and lower case letters and numbers, too.
- Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for
personal financial information.
Phishers have been known to include upsetting or enticing (but
false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately.
More recently, some phishers have toned down their language, as
email recipients have become more aware of the use of this tactic.
Either way, the email typically asks for information such as user
names, passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers,
etc.
- Don’t open email from unknown sources.
“Phishing” emails are those sent to your email address
by cyber criminals who wish to steal your personal information.
Be wary of any email that asks for PIN numbers, passwords or your
credit card information. These letters are often emblazoned with
real registered logos of legitimate companies that you may already
do business with. Links within these “Phishing” letters
may take you to fraudulent “Spoof” websites which
are designed to fool consumers into trusting the integrity of
the website. Most Phishing emails do not even address you by your
proper name because they are “blanket” emails sent
out en masse to thousands of potential targets.
- Be careful of emails that are not personalized and/or
may contain spelling errors and/or awkward syntax and phrasing.
Many phishing emails are sent in great bulk and, therefore, are
not personalized. If you are suspicious of an email claiming to
be from your institution that is not personalized, call your institution
before responding. Many are also being sent from other countries
from individuals for whom English is a foreign language, thus
resulting in misspelled words and awkward syntax and phrasing.
- Be careful of personalized emails that ask for personal
financial information.
Be suspicious of any email that contains some personal financial
information, such as a bank account number and asks for other
information, such as a PIN. Your bank will never ask for or send
you personal financial information by email.
- Do not use links in an email to get to any Webpage.
Instead, call the bank on the telephone to confirm the address,
or log onto the Website directly by typing in the web address
in your browser.
- Do not complete forms in email messages that ask for
personal financial information.
Your financial institution would never ask you to complete
such a form within an email message.
- Only communicate information, such as credit card numbers
or account information, via a secure website or the telephone.
When submitting financial information to a website, look for the
padlock or key icon at the bottom of your browser, and make sure
the Internet address begins with “https.” A secure
web server designation can be found by checking the beginning
of the web address in your browser’s address bar –
the address should begin with https://... Rather than just http://...
. While you can not be completely sure that a website is secure
when its address starts with “https,” you can be sure
the website is not secure when it does not start with “https.”
- Regularly log on to your online accounts and check your
bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions
are legitimate.
One of the real advantages of banking online is being able to
regularly review your account for unauthorized or unusual activity.
If anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers
immediately.
- Ensure that your browser is up to date and security
patches applied.
Always visit your browser’s home page to download the latest
security updates even if they don’t alert you to do so.
- Use online statements to reduce the volume of paper
mailed.
Paper today is the cause of more actual instances of identity
fraud than are electronic thefts.
- Report any suspicious emails and website addresses immediately.
Most eCommerce websites maintain security departments that deal
with Spam, Phishing scam letters and other security breaches.
Forward any unusual emails and website addresses to the security
departments immediately so that they can advise you on how to
proceed.
- “We need you to update your password because of
a security compromise”
Why would a company that already has your password request it
from you? Many illegitimate emails are sent daily asking you to
update your password because of purported “security compromises”
that do not exist. A simple phone call to the organization in
question will answer any question that you may have regarding
security compromises. Customer service centers are to be considered
your ultimate resource when you received potentially illegal or
confusing emails.
- Pop-Up Windows.
Beware of any window that “pops up” during an internet
banking session. If the window asks you to access another website
or to enter your password then you should beware. “RATS”
or Remote Access Trojans can be installed on legitimate websites
by computer hackers who want to steal your personal information.
Call your financial institution’s internet banking customer
service immediately to determine the legitimate operation of their
website before you honor any request for your personal information.
- Use the best virus protection and firewall protection
that you can afford.
Virus protection and firewalls provide additional layers of protection
that you need to insulate your risk exposure to viruses that can
rob your computer hard drive of valuable personal information.
Virus protection packages and firewalls can be purchased online
or at reputable computer software stores nationwide. Remember
that after you install virus protection you will still need to
regularly update the software to ensure maximum protection. Most
software updates are free once you pay for the annual fee for
virus protection software.
- Disconnect from the Internet when not in use.
Literally “unplugging” the PC and disabling your wireless
router may play key elements in protecting your information when
the computer is not being used. Dial up connections can be unplugged
from the telephone outlet while wireless routing devices can simply
be unplugged from the electrical source or “powered down”
during periods when the PC is idle.
- Allow your financial institution to contact you using
normal channels of communication.
Make sure that your financial institution has your best possible
contact telephone numbers and your current mailing address. If
you financial institution wishes to contact you they will more
than likely use the telephone followed by an actual paper letter
sent to your official address.
Everyone makes mistakes.
It is always better to obtain guidance from your financial institution
when you suspect that you have inadvertently entered your personal
information on a bogus website. Do no delay in contacting your financial
institution. There are many resources and solutions available to
preserve your piece of mind as well as your financial well being.
When in doubt, make the phone call!!
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