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Your Security is important to us. Here at LibertyBank we want to provide tools and resources
that will assist you in preventing identity theft.
What is 'Phishing'?
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 number, passwords, and/or sensitive information.
The term phishing was coined by hackers who imitate legitimate companies in e-mails to
entice people to share passwords or credit card numbers.
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What is 'Spoofing'?
Pretending to be something it is not, on the Internet, usually an e-mail or a Web site.
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How to Report It
In addition to notifying your financial institution, we suggest reporting phishing
emails or spoofed Web sites to the following groups:
- Forward the phishing e-mail to reportphishing@antiphishing.org,
Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov, and to the "abuse"
e-mail address at the company that is being spoofed (e.g. spoof@ebay.com).
- When forwarding spoofed messages, always include the entire original e-mail with
its original header information intact.
- Notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI by filing a compliant on
their Web site: www.ic3.gov.
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What do You do if You are a Victim?
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
U.S. Postal Service (keep a copy for yourself) describing each questionable charge.
Credit, Debit or ATM Card Loss or Fraudulent Transactions
As a consumer, you are protected by Federal law and by many card protection programs
if you exercise reasonable care and report any authorized transactions promptly.
- It is very important that you continually monitor your monthly statements
to identify any unauthorized transactions.
- If you notice fraudulent activity, promptly notify your financial institution
or card issuer to report it.
(Check your Cardholder Agreement and Disclosure for particular protections and
notification requirements.)
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 logger" 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 anti-virus and personal firewall software. (There are
several products available online or through computer retail stores.)
- Update your anti-virus programs often and 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 have transmitted the new one to the hacker.
- Check your other 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, to ensure they remain secure and have
not been comprised by unauthorized access.
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 a free copy of your credit report to check whether any accounts
were opened without your consent.
- Request that the agencies place a fraud alert and a victim's statement in your file.
- Request that the agencies remove inquiries and/or fraudulent accounts stemming from the theft.
Major Credit Bureaus
- To order your report, call: 800-685-1111
or write : P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
- To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285
and write: 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.
- To order your report, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
or write: P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013
- To report fraud, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
TDD: 1-800-972-0322
and write: P.O. Box 9530, Allen, TX 75013.
- To order your report, call: 800-888-4213
or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.
- To report fraud, call: 800-680-7289
TDD: 1-877-553-7803
and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634.
Additional Actions to Take if you believe that you are a victim of identity theft.
- 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's Fraud Hotline to report the unauthorized
use of your personal identification information.
- Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles to see whether an unauthorized driver's
license number has been issued in your name and to notify them of the identity theft.
- 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.
Online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft
- or call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free at
1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261
- or write: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission,
600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20580
- Ask for a free copy of "TAKE CHARGE: Fighting Back Against
Identity Theft" a guide that will help you recover from your theft—and
guard against it in the future.
- File a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) by visiting their Web site: 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 your phone calls with letters. Keep copies of all correspondence.
Identity Theft Resources
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Safe Computing Practices
The number and sophistication of phishing and spoofing scams sent 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 e-mail.
Here is a list of recommendations to follow in order to avoid becoming a victim of scams:
- Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial
information.
Phishers have been known to include upsetting or enticing (but false) statements
in their e-mails to get people to react immediately. More recently, some phishers
have toned down their language as e-mail recipients have been more aware of the
use of this tactic. Either way, the e-mail typically asks for information such as
user names, passwords, credit cards numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.
- Be careful of e-mails that are not personalized and/or may contain
spelling errors and/or awkward syntax and phrasing.
Many phising e-mails are sent in great bulk and therefore, are not personalized.
If you are suspicious of an e-mail claiming to be from your institution that is
not personalized, call your institution before responding. Many also are 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 e-mails that ask for personal financial information.
Be suspicious of any e-mail 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 your personal financial information by e-mail.
- Do not use links in an e-mail to get to any Web page.
Instead, call the bank on the telephone to confirm the address, or log onto the
Web site directly, by typing in the Web address in your browser.
- Do not complete forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal
financial information.
Your financial institution would never ask you to complete such a form within
an e-mail message.
- Only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account
information, via a secure Web site or on the telephone.
When submitting financial information to a Web site, look for the padlock or
key icon at the bottom or your browser, and make sure the Internet address
begins with https://... rather than http://... since you can not be completely
sure the Web site is 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 it
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.
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What is Spyware?
Installed on your computer without your consent, spyware software monitors or
controls your computer use. It may be used to send you pop-up ads, redirect your
computer to websites, monitor your Internet surfing or record your keystrokes.
Many experienced Web users have learned how to recognize spyware and delete it.
According to officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), computer users should
get wise to the signs that spyware has been installed on their machines, and then
take the appropriate steps to delete it.
The clues that spyware might be on a computer include:
- a barrage of pop-up ads
- a hijacked browser - that is a browser that takes you to sites other than those you type into the address box.
- a sudden or repeated change in your computer's Internet home page
- new and unexpected toolbars
- new and unexpected icons on the system tray at the bottom of your computer
- keys that don't work (for example, the "Tab" key that might not work when you try to move to the next field in a Web form)
- random error messages
- sluggish or downright slow performance when opening programs or saving files
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How can I lower the risk of spyware infection?
The good news is that consumers can take steps to lower their risks of spyware
infections. Technology industry experts suggest that you:
- Update your operating system and Web browser software. Your operating system
(like Windows or Linux) may offer free software "patches" to close holes in the
system that spyware could exploit.
- Install a personal firewall to stop uninvited users from accessing your computer.
A firewall blocks unauthorized access to your computer and will alert you if
spyware already on your computer is sending information out.
- Install an anti-spyware program from a vendor you know and trust. Set it to
scan on a regular basis - at least once a week - and every time you start your
computer, if possible. And delete any software programs the anti-spyware program
detects that you don't want on your computer.
- Download free software only from sites you know and trust. It can be appealing
to download free software like games, peer-to-peer file sharing programs,
customized toolbars or other programs that may change or customize the
functioning of your computer. Be aware, however, that some of these
free software applications bundle other software, including spyware.
- Don't install any software without knowing exactly what it is. Take the time to
read the end-user license agreement (EULA) before downloading any software.
If the EULA is hard to find - or difficult to understand - think twice about
installing the software.
- Minimize "drive-by" downloads. Make sure your browser security setting is
high enough to detect unauthorized downloads, for example, at least the "Medium"
setting for Internet Explorer. Keep your browser updated.
- Don't click on links within pop-up windows. If you do so, you may install
spyware on your computer. Instead, close pop-up windows by clicking on the
"X" icon in the title bar.
- Don't click on links in spam that claim to offer anti-spyware software.
Some software offered in spam actually installs spyware.
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