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SECURITY
Security Statement
This Internet Banking System brings together a combination of
industry-approved security technologies to protect data for the bank
and for you, our customer. It features password controlled system
entry, a VeriSign issued Digital ID for the bank’s server, Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol for data encryption, and a router
loaded with a firewall to regulate the inflow and outflow of server
traffic.
Secure Access and Verifying User Authenticity
To begin a session with the bank’s server the user must key in an
Access ID and a password. Our system, the Internet Banking System,
uses a “3 strikes and you’re out” lock-out mechanism to deter users
from repeated login attempts. After three unsuccessful login
attempts, the system locks the user out, requiring either a
designated wait period or a phone call to the bank to reset the
password before re-entry into the system. Upon successful login, the
Digital ID from VeriSign, the experts in digital identification
certificates, authenticates the user’s identity and establishes a
secure session.
Secure Data Transfer
Once the server session is established, the user and the server are
in a secured environment. Because the server has been certified as a
128-bit secure server by VeriSign, data traveling between the user
and the server is encrypted with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
protocol. With SSL, data that travels between the bank and customer
is encrypted and can only be decrypted with the public and private
key pair. In short, the bank’s server issues a public key to the end
user’s browser and creates a temporary private key. These two keys
are the only combination possible for that session. When the session
is complete, the keys expire and the whole process starts over when
a new end user makes a server connection
Router and Firewall
Requests must filter through a router and firewall before they are
permitted to reach the server. A router, a piece of hardware, works
in conjunction with the firewall, a piece of software, to block and
direct traffic coming to the server. The configuration begins by
disallowing ALL traffic and then opens holes only when necessary to
process acceptable data requests, such as retrieving web pages or
sending customer requests to the bank.
Fraud Alert and Phishing
Beware of Internet Fraud. The bank will never request confidential
information through e-mail. Report any such requests to the bank at
940.627.8767.
Don't Get Lured into a Phishing Scam
from the ABA Education Foundation Copyright 2004 © American Bankers
Association Education Foundation. Reprinted with Permission. All
Rights Reserved.
Con artists now use email to try to hijack your personal financial
information. In a scam known as "phishing," swindlers claim to be
from a reputable company and send out thousands of fake emails in
hopes that consumers will respond with the bank account information,
credit card numbers, passwords or other sensitive information.
These emails can look quite convincing, with company logos and
banners copied from actual Web sites. Often, they will tell you that
their security procedure has changed or that they need to update (or
validate) your information, and then direct you to a look-alike Web
site. If you respond, the thieves use your information to order
goods and services or obtain credit.
We will never:
- Send e-mail that requires you to enter personal information
directly into the
e-mail
- Send e-mail threatening to close your account if you do not take
the immediate action of providing personal information
- Send e-mail asking you to reply by sending personal information
- Send e-mail asking you to enter your User ID, password or account
numbers into an e-mail or non-secure webpage
Consumer Tips
To avoid becoming a victim of a phishing scam, the American Bankers
Association offers these tips:
- Never give out your personal financial information in response to
an unsolicited phone call, fax or email, no matter how official it
may seem.
- Do not respond to email that may warn of dire consequences unless
you validate your information immediately. Contact the company to
confirm the email's validity using a telephone number or Web address
you know to be genuine.
- Check your credit card and bank account statements regularly and
look for unauthorized transactions, even small ones. Some thieves
hope small transactions will go unnoticed. Report discrepancies
immediately.
- When submitting financial information to a Web site, look for the
padlock or key icon at the bottom of your browser, and make sure the
Internet address begins with "https." This signals that your
information is secure during transmission.
- Report suspicious activity to the
Internet Crime Complaint Center,
a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime
Center.
- If you have responded to an email, contact your bank immediately
so they can protect your account and your identity. For information
on identity theft, visit
ABA's Consumer Connection.
For more information on phishing, visit the
Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation,
Federal Trade Commission or the
Anti-Phishing
Working Group.
Identify Theft
If you suspect misuse of your personal information to commit fraud,
take action immediately. Keep a record of all conversations and
correspondence when you take the following suggested steps:
- Contact your bank(s) & credit card issuers immediately so that
the following can be done: access to your accounts can be protected;
stop payments on missing checks; personal identification numbers (PINs)
and online banking passwords changed; and a new account opened, if
appropriate. Be sure to indicate to the bank or card issuer all of
the accounts and/or cards potentially impacted including ATM cards,
check (debit) cards and credit cards. Customer service or fraud
prevention telephone numbers can generally be found on your monthly
statements. Contact the major check verification companies to
request they notify retailers using their databases not to accept
these stolen checks, or ask your bank to notify the check
verification service with which it does business. Three of the check
verification companies that accept reports of check fraud directly
from consumers are: Telecheck (800) 710-9898, International Check
Services (800) 631-9656, ChexSystems (888) 478-6536 and Equifax (800) 437-5120.
- File a police report with your local police department. Obtain a
police report number with the date, time, police department,
location and police officer taking the report. The police report may
initiate an investigation into the loss with the goal of
identifying, arresting and prosecuting the offender and possibly
recovering your lost items. The police report will be helpful when
clarifying to creditors that you are a victim of identity theft.
- Contact the three major credit bureaus and request a copy of your
credit report. Review your reports to make sure additional
fraudulent accounts have not been opened in your name or
unauthorized changes made to your existing accounts. Check the
section of your report that lists “inquiries.” Request the
“inquiries” be removed from your report from the companies that
opened the fraudulent accounts. In a few months, order new copies of
your reports to verify your corrections and changes to make sure no
new fraudulent activity has occurred. Request a “fraud alert” for
your file and a victim’s statement asking creditors to call you
before opening new accounts or changing your existing ones. This can
help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in
your name. The major credit bureaus and their phone numbers are:
Equifax (800) 525-6285, Experian (888) 397-3742 and Trans Union
(800) 680-7289.
- Check your mailbox for stolen mail. Make sure no one has
requested an unauthorized address change, title change, PIN change
or ordered new cards or checks to be sent to another address. If a
thief has stolen your mail to get credit cards, bank and credit card
statements, pre-screened credit offers or tax information, or if an
identity thief has falsified change-of-address forms, that’s a
crime. Contact your local post office and police.
- Maintain a written chronology of what happened, what was lost and
the steps you took to report the incident to the various agencies,
banks and firms impacted. Be sure to record the date, time, contact
telephone numbers, person you talked to and any relevant report or
reference number and instructions.
The FDIC has a comprehensive program on how consumers can protect
themselves against online identity theft and other scams,
including a video that runs for about three minutes. Click here to
view the program.
In addition, the United States Department of Treasury offers an
Identity Theft Resource Page for assistance in
preventing and overcoming identity theft.
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