Protect Yourself Against Email Fraud and Phishing

One of the latest types of email fraud is called “Phishing” (pronounced “fishing”). Cyber-criminals attempt to collect personal and sensitive information with phony email that appears to be from legitimate companies. Typically the email directs recipients to “verify or update” their account information. The email usually includes links to imitations of legitimate websites and/or forms to collect this personal information. Please note: County Bank will never ask for sensitive information from you via email (e.g., social security number, access ID, pass code or account number). The following tips will help you to further protect your personal information while online:

  • Always avoid emailing personal and financial information
  • Be suspicious of any email or pop-up messages with urgent requests for personal financial information
  • If an email arrives unsolicited from any source indicating you must click on a link to visit a site, and input personal data, be very wary of it
  • Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from email you receive - regardless of who sends them
  • Instead of clicking on links in email - type in the URL that you’re familiar with and/or select the website from your “favorites”
  • If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and should be avoided
  • If you have any doubts about the validity of an email - contact the sender using a telephone number you know to be genuine/authentic
  • Regularly log into your online accounts to check all transactions connected to your bank accounts and credit cards to ensure that all transactions are legitimate
  • County Bank offers free online banking, NetTeller℠ - for all of our personal consumers
  • If you initiate an online transaction and you want or need to provide your personal information - look for indicators that the site is secure. For example, the URL for secure sites typically begins with “https” instead of “http”
  • Use anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date
  • Make sure you have applied the latest security patches for your computer. Most software providers, like Microsoft, offer free security patches
  • If you have broadband Internet access (e.g. cable modem or DSL) make sure that you have a firewall

Visit www.ftc.gov/spam to learn other ways to avoid email scams and deal with deceptive spam.

Reporting

Report phishing email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov. You can also report spam email to your ISP, such as AOL, MSN, or Yahoo. If you believe your identity or personal information has been stolen, file a complaint at www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC’s Identity Theft Web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from ID theft. You can also report Internet crimes on the Internet Crime Complaint Center, www.ic3.gov.