The Security Center

Know the threats

It's important to be aware of possible risks to your computer and the information on or passing through it. We have a designated team responsible for reviewing potential threats to clients' assets and information.

Your awareness, combined with our vigilance, can help to decrease the risk to your accounts and information.

Please familiarize yourself with the threats posed by identity theft, phishing, spyware, and other dangers. These crimes can compromise your accounts and damage your credit.

Identity theft

Identity theft--using a person's personal or financial data to commit fraud--is one of the most rapidly growing global crimes. The main targets of this crime are your personal information, your financial information, and access to your online accounts.

The personal information often targeted includes:

• Social Security number
• Driver's license number
• Passport
• Signature

The financial information often sought is:

• UserIDs and Passwords
• Account numbers
• Credit card numbers
• ATM / Debit cards
• Checks

Phishing

Phishing is when someone attempts to steal personal or financial information. It usually starts with an e-mail asking for sensitive information, such as your UserID or user name, your password, or your account information.

Phishing--sometimes also referred to as pharming opens the door to identity theft and computer security breaches.

Please note: We will never ask you for your account number, UserID, PIN, password or any other personal information in an e-mail. (In rare cases, however, we might need to ask you for the last four digits of your account number for identification purposes.)

Spyware

As its name suggests, spyware is software that is used to "spy" on your computer. It poses two problems: invasion of privacy and can adversely affect your computer's performance.

Viruses, worms, and Trojans

Viruses, worms and Trojan horses (often referred to as just Trojans) are programs that can become embedded on your hard drive. They can allow remote access to your computer, send spam, be used to spy on you, log your keystrokes, aid phishers, erase data, and even wipe out your hard drive.

• A virus is computer code that infects your computer when you take a certain action, such as double clicking on an e-mail attachment. A virus typically embeds in your existing software and uses it to reproduce and spread.
• Unlike viruses, worms are stand-alone programs. They do not embed themselves into another piece of software, but spread by duplicating themselves without any intervention from you.
• A Trojan is a stand-alone program that spreads by masquerading as a harmless file or program and tricking the user into installing it on his or her machine. Many Trojans arrive under the guise of a picture, screensaver, or e-mail attachment. Once a user opens the file, the Trojan installs itself on the computer and may take over the computer's e-mail program or use its own e-mail program for malicious purposes.