Fraud & ID Theft Prevention

Identity theft involves the unlawful acquisition and use of someone’s identifying information, such as: Name, Address, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, Mother’s Maiden Name, Driver’s License, Bank Account Number or Credit Card Number.

Tips to Reduce Fraudulent Transactions

• If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
• Nothing is free, not even “Free Trial” of products and services. Read the “fine” print.
• “Always” read the terms and conditions of products and / or services. This is where the true price will be revealed or state the charges at a later date.

How to Protect Yourself from Online Fraud

Online fraud continues to grow in sophistication and frequency. These scams appear in many forms but they are especially prevalent in emails and websites. Here are a few tips on protecting yourself online.

• First and foremost, be careful of what you click on links and attachments. They might contain malicious code or malware.
• Be careful of Pop-up advertisements. They might attempt to obtain sensitive information from you or harbor malicious links. Use web blocking and filtering applications or services. Many of them contain software that will help you determine if a website is safe or not.
• Do NOT use the same ID and Password for every online account you have. That way if one account is compromised, not all of them are.
• Change your password frequently and use complex passwords (numbers, letters, special characters).
• Do NOT store your ID and password information where others could gain access to it. It is best not to write the information down at all or share them with others. Use multifactor authentication.
• Be aware of Phishing attempts (websites or emails) that try to obtain personal or confidential information from you.
• Beware of public Wi-Fi connections and public computers because they could have malicious software installed on them that can collect your data. If possible, connect to the Internet using a VPN service.
• Make sure your software and Operating system is up-to-date with the latest security patches.
• Secure your PC with Antivirus, Firewall and Anti-Malware software.
• Connect to websites using a secure connection (HTTPS). This helps secure a connection to your favorite site and prevents eavesdropping into your connection with that site. You can type in HTTPS into your address bar to see if that service is available for your favorite service. i.e. HTTPS://google.com.
• Check your account balance regularly to detect irregularities
• Use your pin whenever the option is available
• Opt-in for transaction text alerts
• Use your mobile phone or other rapid means to immediately deactivate a card when required
• Set a PIN/Password on your phone and enable the “Find my Phone” option on your device so you can find your phone online or remotely erase your phone.
• Backup your data
• Never send sensitive information over email unless it’s encrypted
• Use multi-factor authentication when possible

  

Social Engineering/Phishing Attacks

In a social engineering attack, an attacker uses human interaction (social skills) to obtain or compromise information about an organization or its computer systems. An attacker may seem unassuming and respectable, possibly claiming to be a new employee, repair person, or researcher and even offering credentials to support that identity. However, by asking questions, he or she may be able to piece together enough information to infiltrate an organization's network. If an attacker is not able to gather enough information from one source, he or she may contact another source within the same organization and rely on the information from the first source to add to his or her credibility.