Cybersecurity Awareness

Consumers increasingly rely on computers and the Internet – the “cyber” world – for everything from shopping and communicating to banking and bill-paying. But while the benefits of faster and more convenient cyber services for bank customers are clear, the risks posed by these services as well as the strategies for preventing or recovering from cyber-related crimes may not be as well-known by the average consumer and small business owner.

Common cyber-related crimes include indentity theft, frauds, and scams. Indentity theft involves a crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data to open fraudulent credit card accounts, charge existing credit card accounts, withdraw funds from deposit accounts, or obtain new loans. A victim’s losses may include not only out-of-pocket financial losses but also substantial cost to restore credit history and to correct erroneous information on their credit reports.

In addition to identity theft, every year millions of people are victims of frauds and scams, which often start with an e-mail, text message, or phone message that appears to be from a legitimate, trusted organization. The message typically asks consumers to verify or update personal information. Similarly, criminals create bogus websites for such things as credit repair services in hopes that consumers will enter personal information.

If you think you are a victom of fraud or scam, contact your state, local or federal consumer protection agency. Also, a local law enforcement officer may be able to provide advice and assistance. By promptly reporting fraud, you improve your chances of recovering what you have lost and you help law enforcement. The agency you contact first may take action directly or refer you to another agency better positioned to protect you.

Violations of federal laws should be reported to the federal agency responsible for enforcement. Consumer complaints are used to document patterns of abuse, allowing the agency to take action against a company.

People who have no intention of delivering what is sold, who misrepresent items, send counterfeit foods or otherwise try to trick you out of your money are committing fraud. If you suspect fraud, there are some additional steps to take.

  • Contact the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC enters Internet telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
  • If the fraud involved mail or an interstate delivery service, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection service (https://postalinspectors.uspsis.gov). It is illegal to use the mail to misrepresent or steal money.

How to Avoid Identity Theft

The best protection against indentity theft is to carefully protect your personal information, for example:

  • Do not share personal information over the phone, through the mail, or over the internet unless you initiated the contact or know the person you are dealing with
  • Be suspicious if someone contacts you unexpectedly online and asks for your personal information. It doesn’t matter how legitimate the e-mail or website may look. Only open e-mails that look like they are form people or organizations you know, and even then, be cautious if they look questionable. Be especially wary of fraudulent e-mails or websites that have typos or other obvious mistakes
  • Don’t give out valuable personal information in response to unsolicited requests. Social Security numbers, financial account information and your driver’s license number are some of the details that should be kept confidential
  • Shred old receipts, account statements, and unused credit card offers
  • Choose PINs and passwords that would be difficult to guess and avoid using easily indentifiable information such as your mother’s maiden name, birth dates, the last four digits of your social security numner, or phone numbers
  • Pay attention to billing cycles and account statements and contact your bank if you don’t receive a monthly bill or statement since identity thieves often divert account documentation
  • Review account statements thoroughly to ensure all transactions are authorized
  • Guard your mail from theft, promptly remove incoming mail, and do not leave bill payment envelopes in your mailbox with the flag up for pick up by mail carrier
  • Obtain your free credit report annually and review your credit history to ensure it is accurate
  • Use an updated security program to protect your computer
  • Be careful about where and how you conduct financial transactions, for example don’t use an unsecured WiFi network because someone might be able to access the information you are transmitting or viewing

How to Avoid Frauds & Scams

There are numerous scams presented daily to consumers so you must always exercise caution when it comes to you personal and financial information. The following tips may help prevent you from becoming a fraud victim.

  • Be aware of incoming e-mail or text messages that ask you to click on a link because the link may install malware that allows thieves to spy on your computer and gain access to your information
  • Be suspicious of any e-mail of phone requests to update or verify your personal information because a legitimate organizations would no solicit updates in an unsecured manner for information it already has
  • Confirm a message is legitimate by contacting the sender (it is best to look up the sender’s contact information yourself instead of using contact information in the message)
  • Assume any offer that seems to good to be true, is probably fraud
  • Be on guard against fraudulent checks, cashier’s checks, money orders, or electrical fund transfers send to you with requests for you to wire back part of the money
  • Be wary of unsolicited offers that require you to act fast
  • Check you security settings on social network sites. Make sure they block out people who you don’t want seeing your page
  • Research any “apps” before downloading and don’t assume an “app” is legitimate just because it resembles the name of your bank or other company you are familiar with
  • Be leery of any offers that pressure you to send funds quickly by wire transfer or involve another party who insists on secrecy
  • Beware of Disaster-Related Financial Scams. Con artists take advantage of people after catastrophic events by claiming to be from legitimate charitable organizations when, in fact, they are attempting to steal money or valuable personal information
Del Norte Bank | Del Norte - (719) 657-3376 | Creede - (719) 658-0126 | Mortgage - (719) 657-4558 | [email protected] | NMLS#446071 March 18th, 2019

Disclaimer:

You are now leaving Del Norte Bank's website and are going to a website that is not operated by the bank. Del Norte Bank is not responsible for the content of availability of linked sites.

Please be advised that Del Norte Bank does not represent either the third party or you, the member, if you enter into a transaction. Further, the privacy and security policies of the linked site may differ from those practiced by Del Norte Bank.

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