Online and Email Safety

Do not access your bank, brokerage or other financial services at Internet cafes, or other public sites.

Do not use the automatic login feature that saves your Password.

When creating passwords and answers to challenge questions don’t use information that is easily linked to you such as your birth date, pet’s name, your mother’s maiden name or your Social Security Number.

Create strong passwords. Don’t use words, phrases, names of people or places. Use both numbers and caps and lowercase letters, and special characters such as #, %, @, &, and $. Passwords should be at least eight characters long.

Change your passwords frequently, especially if you sign in from several computers, including computers at work.

Normal email does not have built in security.            

- No Authentication: No guarantee that the email is from the listed sender (spoofed email).
- No Encryption: The email is public information the instant you send it over the internet.
- No Data Integrity: No guarantee that the email has not been tampered with while in transit.

Never leave your computer unattended while using any online banking or investing service.

Log off of Online Services when you are finished. Do not just close or shut down your browser.

Do not share you IDs, passwords or other codes with a third party.

Do not respond to emails that appear to be from your bank, a government office or other entity if it requests confidential information such as User IDs, Passwords, PINs, Social Security numbers, etc.

Delete email messages that appear to be spam or contain suspicious attachments. Do not open the email if the name of the sender is unfamiliar or the subject is suspicious.

Do not click links inside spam email, especially emails claiming to offer anti-spyware software.

Close a pop-up by clicking on the “X.” Do not close by clicking within the advertisement itself.

Do not install software without knowing exactly what it is or what it will do. Read the end-user license agreement.

Fraudulent emails are trying to trick you into providing your personal information such as your Social Security Number, ATM or Check Card PIN, or other sensitive information.

Often these emails contain urgent appeals that falsely claim your account may be closed if you fail to confirm, verify or authenticate your personal information immediately.

The email may even falsely claim that the bank has lost important security information and it needs to be updated online.

Typos and grammatical and other errors are often signs that the email or website is fraudulent. Awkward, stilted sentences and poor design or visual quality are also signs of potential fraud.

Offers that are too-good-to-be-true usually are. Don’t get mixed up in fraud schemes that promise to pay you money for helping the sender transfer cash.

OnGuardOnline.gov is a website that provides tips and information from the federal government and the technology industry to help you protect yourself against Internet fraud, and secure your computer and personal information.

Credit Bureaus – At your request, all nationwide consumer reporting agencies must provide you with a free copy of your credit report each year which can be ordered from annualcreditreport.com. If you have already received your credit report within the last 12 months, you can order a copy from the credit bureaus for a fee.

            - Equifax 800-685-1111
            - Experian 888-397-3742
            - Trans Union 800-888-4213

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