Cybersecurity

How to Protect Yourself

You may think identity theft will never happen to you, but the statistics say otherwise. Proofpoint’s global 2018 User Risk Report showed that over 33% of US adults have fallen victim to identity theft – a number that’s over twice the global average. A Verizon Data breach study from 2017 showed that someone becomes a victim of identity theft every two seconds. According to Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, one in five victims experience it more than once: “That means almost one-quarter of our victims have been through this before.” Not even children are safe from identity theft. In fact, according to Carnegie Mellon University’s study, they are 51 times more likely to be a victim than adults. Here at Casey State Bank, we take cybersecurity very seriously, and we want to provide you with as many tools as possible to protect yourself and your family from identity theft.

ID Theftsmart

Customers who use ID Theftsmart are given exclusive access to a dedicated, licensed private investigator in the event that their identity is compromised. The investigator will work to restore your identity and enable you to regain your financial standing quicker. They’ll walk you through the identity theft restoration process, review and resolve trails, issue fraud alerts with consumer credit reporting agencies, the Social Security Administration, FTC, and USPS, prepare documentation, and see every identity theft issue to resolution. We offer three different ID Theftsmart products, ranging from $2.99 to $8.99 a month. Please contact us today if you’d like to add Theftsmart protection to your account.

Don’t Use Public Computers

When you use a public computer, you have no way of knowing whether its antivirus software is up-to-date, if someone is looking over your shoulder, or if a hacker has compromised the device’s security. If you forget to log out at the end of the session, you’re leaving those funds exposed. For those reasons, you should never conduct private transactions on a computer.

If you absolutely need to enter sensitive information on a computer, know that you do so at your own risk, and follow tips from the Identity Theft Resource Center on how to keep yourself safe on public computers.

Protect Your Devices/Computer

There are multiple ways to protect your devices and computer, including paying attention to the URL, virus protection, authentication, password management, and using mobile apps rather than desktop computers for online banking.

Look for “https”

The “https” at the beginning of a URL means that the site is encrypted. If you click on the web address for this blog, you will see the “https” showing that this site is secure for you to use. For more on “https” and how it can help protect you, read this article. If you’re conducting business online, ensure that the browser’s padlock or key icon is active.

Keep Virus Protection Up-to-Date

Double-check that your virus protection software is active and up to date. Many virus protection software programs (such as McAfee) have identity theft protection included or available at an additional cost.

Get Notifications

Did you know you can turn on notifications for alerts? We can send you text or email alerts about large withdrawals, card-not-present notifications, and other suspicious activities.

2-Factor Authentication

This is a safer way to log in that requires two authentication methods. For example, you may log in with your password and then type in a code that’s sent to your phone. Requiring 2-factor authentication strengthens your account’s security.

Use a Trusted Password Manager

Many companies allow you to securely store all of your passwords behind a master password. This can be a fantastic way to keep track of all of your passwords, including your banking one. It also makes it easier to come up with strong, different passwords for each website. Worried about whether or not they’re secure? This honest blog post by Norton explores the pros and cons of password managers.

Mobile App

Kyle Marchini, Fraud Management Senior Analyst, says that “with computers, it is easier to inadvertently download malware from hackers,” so mobile banking apps are the way to go. He warns not to log in using public Wi-Fi, however. He prefers apps over the mobile browser since there’s less chance of navigating to a fake bank site that way. He also encourages people to use a screen-lock on their phones, so that others can’t access data if the device is stolen.

Remember not to transmit or store personal information on your mobile device.

Don’t Share Private Information

Private information, such as your Social Security Number, account information, passwords, PIN numbers, and personal information (such as the kind of information you’d use to verify your account) should remain confidential. Change your passwords periodically and create strong passwords with a combination of letters, numbers, capitalization, and special characters.

Monitor Your Mailbox

Fraudsters look for monthly statements containing your financial information, so try paperless billing. Refrain from mailing bills from your own mailbox, since the red flag alerts potential scammers. Instead, send them to the post office.

Be wary of suspicious emails as well. Never click on a suspicious email or disclose private information. If the email looks suspicious, hover your mouse over it – don’t click – and it will show the source of the email. Any time you are in doubt, make a phone call to the business in question (by finding their own phone number online – not by calling one within an email) to confirm whether it was sent by them.

Shred Sensitive Info (Physically and Virtually)

You should shred paper receipts, bank statements, and unused credit card offers before you throw them away, but you probably already knew that. Did you know, though, that you should virtually shred your sensitive information as well? Deleting personal information isn’t enough if someone gains access to your PC. With specialized software, anyone can retrieve data that was sent to the trash, or that was erased when the computer was formatted. Luckily, most major antivirus programs (including Avast, AVG, McAfee, and Norton) already have shredding capabilities.

Check Your Credit Report

You can order a free copy of your credit report every four months from one of the three reporting agencies at annualcreditreport.com, a source authorized by Federal law.  Or you can try checking it on sites like Credit Karma.

Report Suspected Fraud Immediately

If you ever feel that you may be a victim of fraud, report it to us immediately. Here at Casey State Bank, we know that time is of the essence and will do everything in our power to ensure that you get your issue resolved as quickly as possible and with as little impact on your credit as we can. Thank you for being a valued customer and for taking the time to be diligent about your cybersecurity.