PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM FRAUD

07/05

Security of our customer’s information is one of Delta Bank’s primary concerns.  When you use Delta Bank’s DNB Online Banking service, the communications between your computer and our services is encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology.  This secures the connection to prevent anyone else besides yourself and Delta Bank from accessing your information.

You can also protect yourself by learning how to spot fraudulent offers and requests directed to you and by taking a few easy steps, such as the following:

Monitor Your Accounts

Periodically monitoring the activity on your accounts is one of the best ways to detect and stop fraudulent activity involving your accounts quickly.

Protect Your User ID and Password

These two pieces of information allow access to your accounts.  Guard this information just as if you were guarding the money you have in your wallet.  You would not just leave your wallet sitting around unguarded, so don’t leave your User ID and Password sitting around for everyone to see.

Pick a Good Password

A good password is not necessarily a hard one to remember.  Don’t use something easy to guess; birthday, anniversary, kid’s name, social security number, phone number, etc.  Use a combination of letters and numbers, and maybe other symbols such as @, $, !.  Use an acronym for something you can remember:    RDAGMD2 – Rainy Days Always Gets Me Down 2

Secure Your Computer

Internet based threats are very plentiful and aggressive today.  You don’t need to go looking for them because they are actively looking for you and your computer to infect.  Installing AND keeping up-to-date security programs on your computer are one of the best ways to protect yourself while on the internet or using email.  Various programs include:

• Virus scanning software to detect and prevent viruses from infecting your computer
• Firewall to block access to/from your computer except for only on required ports
• Anti-Spyware / Anti-Adware software to keep programs from sending your personal information off to someone else
• Pop-up blocker to keep those annoying, and possible dangerous, ads from bothering you

Installing these programs is a good first step, but keeping them up-to-date is more important.  As new threats are developed, security programs need to be updated so that they will be able to detect those new threats.  Security programs come in all price ranges, ranging from commercially available packages to freeware or inexpensive programs.

Computer operating system updates are also very important to keep up-to-date.  These usually are easy and inexpensive, if not free, to retrieve and will help you to secure your computer even more.

Avoid downloading programs from unknown sources.  They may contain other hidden programs that could compromise the security of your computer and your private information.  Email attachments can also contain disguised or hidden programs that will attempt to compromise your computer.

Scams

Email scams are on a constant rise.  Beware of these!  Some are very creative and sometimes very believable, they are still a scam to try and separate you from your money.  Some common ones include:

·    You will receive a share of the millions of dollars someone is trying to get out of the country before the government takes it.  What ends up happening is that YOUR money leaves you and ends up in their country and their pocket.

·    Your rich relative (Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Brother, Sister, or whoever) that you never see, but may really be your relative, has died and is leaving you some of their fortune.  All you need to do is pay for the legal fees and/or medical expenses and then you can receive your check for your large inheritance.  What ends up happening is you will pay the fees and expenses, which may keep getting bigger and bigger, but the promised inheritance check never comes.  The money you paid out is gone and, if you did receive a check of some sort, the check is no good.

·    You have an item for sale and the buyer sends you a check for an amount greater than the asking price.  They instruct you to deposit the check and return the extra amount to them when you ship them the item. What ends up happening is the check you received is no good, causing you to have to pay back the bank for the full amount of the original check you received plus you no longer have your item you were selling.

Phishing and Spoofed Web Sites - (see “Report Suspicious Email and Web Sites” section below)

Just like going to the lake and throwing out your line with bait on it to try and catch a fish, computer “phishing” (also pronounced fishing) is throwing out a line of false information and trying to bait you to bite its hook and going to a fake (spoofed) web site that looks like the real thing.  If you take the bait, you can be at risk of losing your money, damaging your credit history, and suffering a great deal of inconvenience.

Learn to identify false emails and web sites.  They can look very real.  Thieves use these to try and collect whatever information they can from you to use it to steal from you.  Things you can look for include:

·        The language and tone used
Is the language used in the email or on the web site sloppy, misspelled, or broken proper grammar?  Is the email threatening to cut off our account access if you do not click the provided link to access your accounts right away? 

·        Information requested
Is the email or web site requesting personal information such as social security number, account number, credit card number, credit card security code from the back of the card, User ID and Password, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc.

·        Alert from a bank that you don’t have accounts with
Do you even have accounts with the bank named in the email?  In an attempt to try and reach someone that will take the bait, thieves will send the fraudulent email to as many email addresses as they can in hopes of reaching someone at the named bank.

·        Fake web site links
The link that appears on screen may appear to be the correct one, but the web site it sends you to can be a slightly or completely different one.  Always check to see what web site address it REALLY is sending you to.  This can be accomplished in most web browsers or email programs by moving your mouse cursor over the link, without clicking it, and viewing the address or status bar.  A fake link may even contain our company name in it. 

The most secure action that you can take is to NOT click a provided link, but rather to type in the bank’s web site address by hand.  Anything that you, as one of our customers, would need to do online will be available from the home page of our web site.

Report Suspicious Email and Web Sites

If you receive an email or are directed to a web site that seems suspicious, forward the entire email – including header information – and any attachments or the entire web site address to spoof@deltabank.com.

You may also want to forward it to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov, or contact them at www.consumer.gov/idtheft* or 877.IDTHEFT (877.438.4338).

If you feel that your User ID and Password have been compromised or that you have fraudulent activity on your account, please contact Delta Bank immediately at either your branch office or Customer Service at 209-824-4060.

To learn more about phishing, read the phishing brochure provided by The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC charters, regulates and supervises all national banks.  It is available at http://www.occ.treas.gov/Consumer/phishing.htm