2012 Winter Newsletter
Phishing Scams
Citizens State Bank is warning consumers not to fall victim to phishing scams. Phishing is a new twist on an old telemarketing scam, but uses email. These criminals send emails to millions of people hoping that even a few will give away valuable information.
To avoid becoming the victim of a phishing scam we offer the following tips:
• Never give out your personal or 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 online, look for the padlock or key icon at the bottom of your
Internet browser. Most secure Internet addresses, though not all, use “https”.
• 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.
• Consider purchasing a security token to further enhance the protection of your account. Tokens can
be purchased by customers for a nominal charge.
For more information on phishing scams and how best to avoid falling victim to them, visit the following websites: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at www.fdic.gov, the Anti-Phishing Working Group at www.antiphishing.org, the National Consumers League at www.nclnet.org, and the OCC Consumer Protection News and OCC Consumer Complaints and Assistance webpages at www.occ.gov.
