|
Security
Tips
Queenstown Bank of
Maryland prides itself on securing our customers information. The
following security tips will help you to safeguard your information.
A
new card Network is offering consumers the opportunity to use any card
with a magnetic strip, as a debit card.
To apply for this service, you must provide them with the following
information;
Please always in mind
when applying for any service that, no one should ever ask for your
PIN. Nor, should you ever give out your PIN to anyone.
Tips
for Safeguarding Your Information
-
Do not
give your social security number or other personal credit
information about yourself to anyone who calls you.
-
Tear up or shred receipts, bank statements and unused
credit card offers before throwing them away.
-
Do not mail bills from your mailbox with the flag up. Take
them to a US Postal drop box or your local Post Office.
-
Retrieve mail promptly from your mail box.
-
Sign up for direct deposit whenever possible.
-
Notice when monthly bills come in the mail. If they are
delayed, contact merchant or credit card company for the reason of
delay or the date of the mailing.
-
Review your monthly accounts regularly for any unauthorized
charges.
-
If your account activity looks suspicious or important mail
is delayed, check with the merchant or biller immediately.
-
If fraud is detected, contact credit bureaus and take
advantage of all recourse and protection periods.
-
Should you need to contact any of the three Credit
Reporting Agencies the numbers are as follows:
Equifax
(800) 525-6285
Experion
(888) 397-3742
Transunion
(800) 680-7289
-
Check
your credit report at least once a year to look for suspicious
activity.
-
Sign up for online banking and review your statements on a
regular basis.
-
Use hard to guess unique passwords, change them regularly.
-
Do not write down your pin number or password. If you must
write it, disguise it as a sentence or a telephone number.
-
Write down the contents of your wallet in case of theft.
-
Report loss of credit and debit cards or driver’s license
immediately.
-
Report loss of your checkbook immediately to your financial
institution.
-
Do not discard a computer without deleting all your personal files
first.
-
Choose to do business with companies you know are reputable,
particularly online. When making an online purchase, look in the
lower right hand corner of your browser window. If you see the
icon of a lock, that means you are dealing with a secure site.
-
Beware of e-mail attachments. Especially if they are from
someone you don’t know and even if they are from someone you do
know.
What
is Phishing?
Phishing
attacks use ‘spoofed’ e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to
fool recipients into divulging personal financial data such as credit
card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security
numbers, etc. By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known websites,
on-line retailers and credit card companies, phishers are able to
convince up to 5% of recipients to respond to them.
Tips
to Avoid Phishing
-
Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for your personal
financial information.
-
Do not use the links in an e-mail to get to any web page, if you
suspect the message might not be authentic.
-
Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal
financial information.
-
Always ensure that you’re using a secure website when submitting
credit card or other sensitive information via you Web browser.
-
Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to
ensure that all transactions are legitimate.
(If
you have given out your bank account information, report the theft of
this information to the bank as quickly as possible and cancel your
account and open a new one.)
Current
Scams
Beware
of telephone calls from people stating that you have won a rather
large sweepstakes. The sweepstakes rules required $900 in cash before
they could issue the check. Refuse to give them the money. Please be
conscious of this scam and never give money or your account number for
anyone to deposit your “sweepstakes” winnings or for any other
reason.
Another
scam to be aware of is an e-mail from someone claiming to be from the
IRS and offering you a “tax bonus” for submitting your taxes on
time. They may request your account number and information to deposit
the “bonus”. Please be aware that the IRS does not offer a “tax
bonus”.
|
|
General Banking Security Tips
ATMs:
-
Have someone
accompany you to the ATM if possible.
-
Fill out banking
forms ahead of time.
-
Spend a minimum
amount of time at the ATM.
-
As you approach an
ATM, be aware of your surroundings, if you notice something or
someone is suspicious, go to another ATM or come back later.
-
Do not use an ATM
that appears unusual looking or offers options with which you
are not familiar or comfortable.
-
Make sure the
lighting around the ATM is adequate, if not, go to another ATM,
and notify the financial institution.
-
Make sure your
car’s passenger windows are up and all doors are locked when
using Drive-Up ATMs.
-
Be wary of people
trying to “help” you with your ATM transaction.
-
Do not allow
people to look over your shoulder as you enter your pin code. Be
cautious of people around you with cell phones many of the newer
versions have camera/video capabilities.
-
Do not re-enter
your pin if the ATM “eats” your card – contact a bank official
immediately.
-
DO NOT write your
pin on the back of your card.
-
Do not display
cash, pocket it, and count it later in your car or at home.
-
Immediately report
all lost or stolen cards to your bank.
-
Never share your
Personal Identification Number (PIN) or give it out over the
telephone even if the caller identifies himself or herself as
your banker or a police officer.
-
Closely monitor
your bank statements, as well as your balance, and immediately
report any problems to your bank.
Parking Lot:
-
Be alert to your
surroundings and other people around you.
-
Never display cash
in a financial institution parking lot …if possible, not even a
“bank bag”.
-
When you conduct
banking business during the hours of darkness, have someone
accompany you.
-
Park as near as
possible to your destination, such as the branch entrance, ATM
or night depository.
-
Establish your
banking relationship with a financial institution that provides
an obviously safe and secure environment, including the parking
lot.
Internet Scams
E-Bay Scams
When shopping on
E-Bay, be careful if you receive a check for more than the bid.
They may request you return the difference by money order or wire.
This is probably a fraudulent scheme and the check will be
returned, as counterfeit and unpaid.
When bidding on
E-Bay, all correspondence must be received through their E-Bay
account. E-Bay is a secured web site and does not accept
responsibility for any sales not through their account.
If you receive
checks payable to you, with instructions to keep part of the money
for your trouble and send the difference back in a money order or
wire, chances are great that it is a scam.
Mail & E-Mail
Scams
Most Financial
Institutions do not give out money or prizes for completing
surveys. If you should receive this request, either by mail or
E-Mail, please phone your financial institution to verify its
validity.
Lottery Scams
If you receive
notice that you have won a Sweepstakes Lottery and a check is
attached, beware. They are probably requesting you pay taxes on
the winnings out of the check and wire them the difference. There
may even be a phone number and a contact person for you to speak
with. A lot of these checks will have misspelled words, names
written surname first, the routing number of one bank and the name
of another. Remember you normally have to enter a sweepstakes to
win.
Anytime you are in
question of the legitimacy of a check, letter or E-mail, contact
your financial institution. For your protection an extended hold
will be placed on any checks, in question. We can help each other
not to become victims of a scam.
Remember if it is too good to be true, it probably isn’t.
|
