Consumer Education

Phishing

There's a new type of Internet piracy called "phishing." It's pronounced "fishing," and that's exactly what these thieves are doing: "fishing" for your personal financial information. What they want are account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and other confidential information that they can use to loot your checking account or run up bills on your credit cards.

In the worst case, you could find yourself a victim of identity theft. With the sensitive information obtained from a successful phishing scam, these thieves can take out loans or obtain credit cards and even driver's licenses in your name. They can do damage to your financial history and personal reputation that can take years to unravel. But if you understand how phishing works and how to protect yourself, you can help stop this crime.

For more information on this topic please click here and/or visit FDIC

Identity Theft

Identity Theft can affect consumers in many ways, but there are also many ways to keep your identity from being "hijacked," and to assist you if you have been a victim of it:

• Protect your Social Security number (SSN), credit card and debit card numbers, PINs (personal identification numbers), passwords and other personal information.
• Protect your incoming and outgoing mail.
• Keep your financial trash "clean."
• Keep a close watch on your bank account statements and credit card bills.
• Avoid identity theft on the Internet.
• Exercise your new rights under FACTA to review your credit record and report fraudulent activity.

Check 21

The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act is a federal law that is designed to enable banks to handle more checks electronically, which should make check processing faster and more efficient. Read more about Check 21.