Online Safety
- Keep a clean machine – Keep your internet connected devices – including personal computers, smartphones, and tablets – current and reduce the risk of infection from ransomware and malware.
- Create Long, Unique Passwords – Strength trumps complexity. Strong passwords are at least 14 characters long and include letters, numbers, and symbols. Ideally, your password is not recognizable as a word or phrase.
- Think before you click – Malicious links in email, tweets, texts, posts, social media messages and malicious online advertising are a direct way for hackers to get your sensitive information. Be wary of clicking on links or downloading anything that comes from a stranger or that you were not expecting.
- Check your settings – Every time you sign up for a new account, download a new app or get a new device, immediately configure the privacy and security settings to your comfort level for information sharing.
Identity Theft
How can you protect yourself against identity theft or fraud?
- Avoid emailing personal financial information.
- Review all bank and credit card statements as soon as you receive them, looking for unauthorized transactions.
- Verify your mailing address is correct and notify Homestead if you don’t receive your statements. Better yet, sign up for online banking so you can monitor your account at your convenience.
- Never provide account information to unsolicited telephone callers. If someone should ask for personal information, (ie) address, social security number, birth date, etc., end the call immediately.
- Use strong passwords that include a combination of numbers, letters, and special characters.
- Don’t open links contained in emails you receive. A deceptive email may say that your bank account has been closed due to fraudulent activity or that it needs to be verified. If you receive an email such as this, do not open the attached file.
Phishing Schemes
The Department of Justice recommends following three simple steps when you see emails or websites that may be part of a phishing scheme: Stop, Look and Call
- Stop – Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (false) statements in their emails with one purpose in mind. They want people to react immediately to that false information by clicking on a link and inputting requested data before they take time to think through what they are doing. Resist that impulse to click immediately. No matter how upsetting the statements may be, there is always enough time to check out the information more closely.
- Look – Look more closely at the claims made in the email, think about whether those claims make sense, and be highly suspicious if you’re asked for personal information such as account numbers, usernames, passwords, etc. If the email indicates that it comes from a bank or financial institution where you have an account but tells you that you have to enter any form of personal information, don’t do it. Legitimate financial institutions already have their customers’ account information on file, even if the email says that your account is being terminated.
- Call – If the message appears to be from a legitimate company, call or email them directly at an address you know is correct.
Check Fraud
Fraud can occur on checks associated with your deposit accounts. These are a few types of check fraud:
- Counterfeit – Counterfeit checks are fraudulent checks that are being created and negotiated. The fraudster will create checks that may or may not look like valid checks and fill out and sign the check.
- Forged Maker – Forged maker fraud occurs when a valid blank check is intercepted or stolen by the fraudster. The criminal will use the valid check, filling it out as the maker.
- Altered – An altered check is a valid filled-out check that is then altered or changed. Fraudster usually changes the amount and the payee of the stolen check.
- Forged Endorsement – A forged endorsement happens when a valid filled-out check is then intercepted or stolen. The fraudster will pose as the payee and attempt to negotiate the item.
Email Fraud
At some time or another, we’ve all received those emails “phishing” for information. These emails use fraudulent websites designed to fool you into sharing personal financial information, such as account numbers, usernames, passwords, social security numbers, etc. By hijacking trusted names of well-known companies, “phishers” are able to convince people to respond to them.
Homestead Savings Bank will:
- Never send an email which requires you to enter personal or account information into the email since we already have that information on file.
- Not Threaten to close your account if you do not take immediate action of providing personal information.
- Not Ask you to reply by sending personal information or ask you to enter your user ID, password or account number.
Common Scams
Romance Scams – Scammer takes advantage of people looking for romantic partners/companionship through dating websites or social media.
- What it might look like: You meet someone online, and after just a few contacts they profess strong feelings for you and ask to chat with you privately through telephone/email/text. After gaining your trust they tell you a false story and ask for money, gifts, or your bank account/credit card details. They do not keep their promises and always have an excuse for why they cannot travel to meet you and why they always need more money.
Sweepstakes/Charity/Lottery Scams – Scammers claim to work for a charitable organization and tell the victims they won a foreign lottery or sweepstakes, which they can collect after paying “fees/taxes.”
- What it might look like: You will receive a letter, email, phone call, or text message saying you have won a prize in a lottery that you did not enter. Then, to claim your prize, you will be asked to pay a fee and taxes. Scammers may claim to be from the Publishers Clearing House.
Tech Support Scams – Scammers act as a technology support representative and offer to fix non-existent computer issues.
- What it might look like: The scammer gains remote access to a victim’s computer or phone and their personal information. A pop-up or blue screen appears on your computer, phone, or iPad/tablet with a warning sign that a virus has infected your device. The message urges you to call a toll-free number or click a link immediately to get technical help. You will get a response from someone who claims to be working for a brand-name tech company, such as Apple/Google/Microsoft. They will ask you to pay for tech support through gift cards or wire transfers.
Reporting Possible Fraud
If you feel you may be a victim of identity theft or fraud, contact Homestead Savings Bank immediately. You can notify federal agencies by logging into reportfraud.ftc.gov. In addition, you may want to consider placing a fraud alert on your credit report. Following are websites for the three major credit reporting agencies: TransUnion | Equifax | Experian
