Online Security Essentials
What can you do to keep your personal information secure electronically? Whether you shop online, enjoy social media or have an active email account, keep these tips in mind to keep your data secure.
- One of the easiest and most important things you can do to protect yourself online is establishing a strong password. Make sure it is at least 8 characters long and includes numbers, lower case letters and at least one capital letter. Change your password frequently and pick something that cannot easily be guessed. Never write down or share your passwords or PINs.
- Utilizing antivirus software is very important for your home and business computers. Once you have it installed, your job isn’t done. Make sure to run periodic scans and update the software with new releases. If available, it is also important to install the same type of safeguards on your mobile devices.
- Always avoid emailing personal information such as your social security number, account numbers or other personal information. A good rule of thumb is never email anything that you don’t want to see posted somewhere or in the hands of someone else.
- Make sure to review your account statements as soon as you receive them for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by a couple days make sure to call the bank or credit card company to confirm your mailing address, balance and transactions. Consider utilizing Internet Banking to access and check your accounts daily. E-statements are also a great way to receive your statement more securely.
- Emails that are received with no warning and ask for specific account information to avoid some type of account closure are ALWAYS a scam. Be leery of all emails asking for personal information. If you are in doubt of the authenticity of an email, call the company with a phone number not listed in the email. CoreFirst Bank & Trust will never solicit account information via an email message.
- Anytime you are conducting online financial business, make sure that address starts with https:// rather than http://. The “s” means your financial and personal information is encrypted before being sent over the Internet and, can only be read by the website you are doing business with.
- If you are using a smart phone, check to see if your phone has the ability to run antivirus. If so, install it and run periodic scans. Regardless of the manufacturer, be sure to install software updates just as you would with your PC. Using a password to protect your device is also recommended.
- Social media is becoming a significant target for cyber-criminals to gain access to personal information. Be leery of links posted on social network sites, sometimes these links are the opening for criminals to install viruses or steal data. Be cautious of all information you disclose on these sites regardless of your security settings.
- As a reminder, CoreFirst Bank & Trust will never email or call on an unsolicited basis and ask for personal information such as account and social security numbers, passwords or user IDs.
- Ultimately, it is your responsibility to keep your information protected. For more information on keeping your finances safe, visit www.fdic.gov/consumers. If you have any questions about the safety of your online accounts with CoreFirst, please do not hesitate to call our Customer Service Center.
