How To Keep Your Identity Secure

Always shred your important personal and financial paperwork when you don’t need it any longer.

It’s crucial that if you change your name, address, or contact telephone numbers, including your mobile number, you let us know immediately.

Financial crime can go undetected for long periods, simply because victims are not aware it has happened, and it may be weeks or months before the fraud is spotted.

A text alert from us warning of suspicious activity on your card will NEVER include a link to be clicked. Never click on a link in a text message that is supposedly from us. A valid notification will provide information about the suspect transaction and ask the cardholder to reply to the text message with answers such as ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘help’, or ‘stop.’ It will never include a link.

A text alert from us will always be from a 5-digit number and NOT a 10-digit number resembling a phone number. Our 5-digit text code number is 37268.

A phone call from our institution’s automated call center will only include a request for your zip code and no other personal information. You may also be prompted to verify transactions by pressing 1 for ‘yes’ or 2 for ‘no.’ If you confirm that a transaction is fraudulent, only then will you be transferred to an agent who will ask questions to confirm that you are the actual cardholder before going through your transactions. If at any point you are uncertain about the questions being asked or the call itself, hang up and call us directly. If a voicemail is left, a case number will be provided in the message. You will need the case number when you return the phone call to confirm your transactions.

We will NEVER ask you for your PIN or the 3-digit security code on the back of your card. Don’t give them out to anyone, no matter what they say. Hang up and call us directly. Fraudsters will often ask cardholders to verify fake transactions. When the cardholder says no, they did not perform those transactions, the fraudster then says that their card will be blocked, a new card will be issued, and that they need the card’s PIN to put it on the new card. Many people believe this and provide their PIN. The 3-digit CV2 code on the back of the card will allow a fraudster to conduct card-not-present transactions.

Fraudsters will often “spoof” a phone call so that the caller ID may show a financial institution name, IRS, Social Security, or local law enforcement officers in an effort to gain the trust or confidence of their victims. If you do not know the caller personally, you should always disconnect the call and reach out to your local branch or the agency you believe to be calling you, with a trusted phone number that you have to determine the validity of the call.