


ICBA and Clinton Savings Bank Offer Tips to Help Consumers Guard Against Loan Scams
CITY, STATE (AUGUST 5,
“Too many Americans are still being targeted by scams that promise to help them avoid foreclosure or refinance their mortgage to a lower rate,” said Sal Marranca, ICBA chairman and president and CEO of Cattaraugus County Bank in Little Valley, N.Y. “The best protection is good information. Community bankers want to be sure that consumers know the warning signs that they may be dealing with a scam artist and how to protect themselves so that they don’t wind up in an even worse financial situation.”
First, if you are having financial troubles, you should contact your mortgage lender immediately. By taking the direct approach, you will be less likely to be taken in by those pitches offered by way of unsolicited phone calls, e-mails or letters that appeal to your worst fears.
Consumers should be wary of any company that does the following:
If you think you have been the victim of a loan scam, you should contact your state attorney general’s office to file a complaint and learn the next steps to repair any damage incurred as a result of the scam. For additional tips, you can also check the following resources:
Learn more about community banking www.icba.org. To find a community bank, visit ICBA’s community bank locator by clicking here.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America, the nation’s voice for community banks, represents nearly 5,000 community banks of all sizes and charter types throughout the United States and is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and the communities and customers we serve. For more information, visit www.icba.org.
Scam Alerts! Updated 7/15/11
Please visit this link for update information from the FDIC:
http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/alerts/
We have been notified that The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.
The subject line of the e-mail states: "Important information for depositors of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation." The e-mail informs recipients that ".this message was sent to you as you had indicated this e-mail address as a contact, by opening an account in your bank department."
The e-mail then states, "In order to inform you about the news concerning current business activity of the Company on a timely basis, please, look through the last important changes in current regulations of endowment insurance procedure. Please, refer to more detailed information in the attached document." The e-mail says that it is from "Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Investor Relations Department."
Attached to the e-mail is Zip file named "FDIC_Document.ZIP"
This e-mail and its attachment are fraudulent. Recipients should consider the intent of this e-mail as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users' computers. Recipients should not open the attachment provided.
The FDIC does not issue unsolicited e-mails to consumers.
Please remember that at Clinton Savings Bank your privacy and security are our highest priority.
Internet Security Policy.
Online security is a real concern in today's world. Our online banking services utilize 128 bit encryption, which assists in preventing unauthorized access. When you sign up for the service, you will be provided with a user identification number and a temporary password, which you should change to a secure password known only to you. As an added security measure you will be prompted to change your password every 90 days, however, you can change your password as often as you wish. In addition, repeated failed attempts will lock the service, and you must contact CSB to reactivate the service.
Please remember that at
ICBA News Release
ICBA: How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft
Washington, D.C. (October 1, 2010)-Close to 10 million people each year have their personal information such as Social Security numbers, credit card and bank account numbers and home addresses stolen, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Victims of identity theft spend approximately $5 million a year repairing their credit, and businesses deal with nearly $50 million in fraudulent charges annually. While the Internet has given rise to a variety of financial crimes that include phishing, spoofing, pharming and vishing, most cases of identity theft still occur offline.
With these statistics in mind, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) offers the following tips to help consumers guard against identity theft.
"Community banks are areful guardians of our customers' personal data and information, but our customers must also play a role and practice caution in stores, online and as they go about their business every day," said Jim MacPhee, ICBA chairman and CEO of Kalamazoo County State Bank in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The following tips can help lower your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft:
Protect your Social Security number. Don't carry your Social Security card or other cards that show your SSN. Read, "Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number."
Don't give out personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you know who you're dealing with and preferably only if you've initiated the contact. Make sure you are dealing with a legitimate organization. As a general rule, never give out your Social Security or driver's license numbers.
Don't put personal information such as your birth year, mother's maiden name or other information on public social media sites. Fraudsters can use that information to decipher your passwords. Also, if you use a smart phone, be careful not to list personal information, account numbers and passwords. If you lose or misplace your phone, a potential fraudster could easily access your information.
Ask questions whenever you are asked for personal information that seems inappropriate for the transaction. Ask how the information will be used and if it will be shared. Ask how it will be protected. If you're not satisfied with the answers, don't give your personal information.
Remember: Banks will not ask you to verify your personal account information over the phone or via e-mail if they initiated the call. They already have that on file. If you receive a phone call or e-mail asking you to verify such information, don't respond. Instead, contact the bank directly.
Don't leave sensitive documents containing personal information where people can see it. Shred or destroy papers containing your personal information, including credit card offers and convenience checks that you don't use.
Retrieve your postal mail promptly, and discontinue delivery while you're out of town. Whenever possible, mail bills from your post office, not your mail box. Stop or reduce junk mail or unsolicited credit card offers by visiting the National Credit Bureau's opt out website at: www.optoutprescreen.com or call them at (888) 567-8688.
Open your bills and bank statements right away. Check carefully for any unauthorized charges or withdrawals and report them immediately. Call if bills don't arrive on time-it may mean that someone has changed contact information to hide fraudulent charges.
Check your credit reports. Review your credit report at least once a year. Check for changed addresses and fraudulent charges. To find out more about credit reports, your rights as a consumer, access the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the FACT Act at www.ftc.gov/credit.
Protect your computer by following good security practices. Use strong passwords that are hard to guess. Use firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software that you update regularly. Download software only from sites you know and trust and only after reading all the terms and conditions. Don't click on links in pop-up windows or in spam e-mail.
Before you get rid of an old computer, make sure you destroy the information on the hard drive. Often that means destroying the drive itself because erasing data doesn't completely eliminate it. Otherwise look for software tools that will completely wipe data from the hard drive.
Use caution when shopping online, check out a website before entering your credit card number or other personal information. Read the privacy policy and take opportunities to opt out of information sharing. Only enter personal information on secure web pages that encrypt your data in transit. You can often tell if a page is secure if "https" is in the URL or if there is a padlock icon on the browser window. Consumer protections under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act apply to Internet credit card purchases. Keep records of the purchase.
"No method is foolproof," said MacPhee. "Identity thieves are devising new schemes all the time. But when you see how long it takes for someone to restore their good credit after being victimized, then you know that any steps you can take to prevent identity theft are definitely worth the extra time."
For more information, visit the Identify Theft Web page at www.icba.org.
Please remember that at Clinton Savings Bank your privacy and security are our highest priority and as such we strongly advise that you do not include any confidential, non-public, or sensitive information, such as social security or account numbers, over the phone or on general email boxes.
Please remember that at Clinton Savings Bank your privacy and security are our highest priority and as such we strongly advise that you do not include any confidential, non-public, or sensitive information, such as social security or account numbers, over the phone or on general email boxes. Clinton Savings Bank will not ask you to verify your personal account information over the phone or via e-mail if they initiated the call. We already have that on file. If you receive a phone call or e-mail asking you to verify such information, do not respond. Instead, contact the Bank directly at 888-744-4272 (4CSB).
Please remember that at