Protect Your Personal Information

First American Bank & Trust appreciates its customers and strives to provide excellence in customer service. One of our services is to educate you against disclosure of your personal information that could lead to unauthorized use of your account and how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. While you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk. A few simple steps can go a long way in protecting your personal information.

• Always destroy sensitive documents instead of simply throwing them away by using a crosscut shredder, including old bank statements, invoices and unwanted pre-approved credit or other financial offers. The direct Marketing Association offers services to help reduce the number of mail and telephone solicitations received. To join their mail preference service, mail your name, home address and signature to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P. O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008.

• Be absolutely sure you know who you are dealing with before giving any personal or financial information. Do not give out financial or personal information online or on the phone unless you initiated the contact and know the party with whom you are dealing.
  

  • It is important to note that First American Bank & Trust does not contact customers via e-mail, phone or mail to request or verify security information about passwords or personal identification numbers (PINs). For your protection and privacy, First American Bank representatives will ask for certain information to verify your identity.

• Monitor your financial statements. Promptly retrieve incoming mail. Don't put outgoing mail in your residential mailbox, where thieves could get your personal and financial information.

• Review account statements promptly and match credit card receipts. Don't ignore suspicious charges. If doubtful or unauthorized charges appear on your bills or statements, call immediately to resolve the discrepancy. Call 1-800-738-2265 to start the process of securing your First American Bank account(s).

• Keep personal information off your checks. Never preprint your driver's license or Social Security number on your checks. Remove your Social Security Number from your Driver's License.

• When ordering new checks, ask when you can expect delivery. If your mailbox is not secure, ask to pick up the checks instead of having them delivered to your home.

• Monitor your credit report for inaccuracies. As of September 1, 2005, all US residents are entitles to receive on free credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TansUnion. You can request your report at AnnualCreditReport.com

• Keep a list of all your credit cards and bank accounts along with account numbers, expiration dates and credit limits, as well as the telephone numbers of customer service and fraud departments. Store this list in a safe place.

• When creating passwords and PINs (personal identification numbers), do not use any part of your Social Security number, birth date, middle name, spouse's name, child's name, address, consecutive numbers, or anything that a thief could easily guess or discover.

• Cancel your unused credit cards so that their account number will not appear on your credit report.

• Memorize personal identification numbers (PINs) and passwords. Never write them on access cards or store them where they can easily be found, such as in wallets, purses, and desks or on computers.

• Beware of incoming phone calls from "imposters" that ask you to disclose information by pretending to be fraud investigators or customer service agents calling with an urgent problem about your account. One fraud involves imposters asking only for the three digit code on the back of your credit card to "verify" possession. When in doubt ask for the caller's identity, always ask to call back at what you know to be a valid customer service number.

• When conducting business online, use a secure browser that encrypts or scrambles purchase information and make sure your browser's padlock or key icon is active.

• Don't open e-mail from unknown sources. Use virus detection software

• Review your credit report with all reporting agencies
  Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com
  Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com
  TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com

• Place a fraud alert on your account with the Credit Reporting Agencies

• Close any account opened or used fraudulently

• File a report with the police

• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

• Call 1-800-738-2265 – First American Bank to start the process of securing your First American Bank account(s)

How to Protect Yourself from Online Fraud

The increased sophistication and rapid growth of online fraud continues to be a challenge. These scams appear in many forms, especially fraudulent emails and Web site, spyware and viruses, and pop-up advertisements.

Fraudulent Emails and Websites

This particular type of fraud occurs when someone poses as a legitimate company to obtain personal data, such as account numbers, and then makes transactions with this information illegally. A common form of this scam is called “phishing”. Phishing refers to cyber-criminals who attempt to gather sensitive personal information from consumers through emails and/or through imitations of legitimate Web sites. To combat phishing, please remember that First American Bank will never ask for sensitive information from you via e-mail (ex. Social security number, access ID, passcode or account number, or ATM/debit card number and PIN).

Spyware and Viruses

Spyware and viruses are destructive programs loaded on your computer without your permission or knowledge. Spyware appears as a legitimate application on your computer but actually monitors your activity and collects sensitive information.  Viruses are harmful programs spread through the Internet that can compromise the security of your computer. Maintaining up-to-date anti-spyware and virus protection software and firewalls help avoid these risks.

Pop-Up Advertisements

Pop-ups appear in a separate browser window and, when clicked, can download harmful spyware or adware to your computer. While some make legitimate offers, many pop-ups are attempts to obtain your sensitive information. First American Bank will never ask you to verify personal financial information in pop-up advertisement.

Helpful Tips to Protect You

While online banking is safe, as a general rule you should always be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet.  Review the following tips to protect your personal information while using the Internet.

• Regularly log into your online accounts to verify that your bank, credit, and debit card statements and transactions are legitimate.
• Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information.
• If you receive an unsolicited e-mail from any source asking you to click on a link to visit a site and input personal data, be very wary of it.
• Be cautious about opening any attachments or downloading any files from e-mails, regardless of who sent them.
• Instead of clicking on links in emails, type in the URL that you're familiar with, such as www.fabt.com, or select the Web address saved in your browser’s "Favorites".
• If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is and should be avoided.
• If you have any doubts about the validity of an email, contact the sender using a telephone number you know to be genuine.
• Before you initiate an online transaction, make sure your personal information is protected by looking for indicators that the site is secure. URLs for secure sites typically begin with "https" instead of "http" and display a lock in the lower right corner of your browser.
• Use anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date.
• Make sure you have applied the latest security patches for your computer.  Most software providers, like Microsoft, offer free security patches.
• If you have broad-band Internet access, such as cable modem or DSL, make sure that you have a firewall.

We take numerous steps to keep your account information secure. However, you must take precautions as well.

• Choose a good passcode - Your online passcode, along with your access ID, authenticate your identity when accessing online accounts. You should carefully select a passcode that is difficult to guess and not use personal information or a word that can be found in the dictionary.
• Keep your passcode safe - Even the best passcode is worthless if it’s written on a note attached to your computer or kept in your checkbook. Memorize your passcode and never tell it to anyone.
• Change your passcode regularly - It’s important to change your passcode regularly. Every time you choose a new passcode, our online banking system runs a quick program to test its safety. If we can guess it, we will immediately ask you to choose another one.
• Remember to log off properly - You may not always be at your own computer when banking online. Therefore, it’s important to log off using the “log off” link at the top of each Internet banking page. If you forget to do so, the system automatically signs you off after 10 minutes of inactivity.

If you need any assistance, you can also contact us at 1-800-738-2265. 

How We Protect Your Online Security

The security of your financial information is one of First American Bank’s most important responsibilities.  We maintain our Internet banking platform using stringent information security guidelines and use many lines of defense to protect your account information. From authentication, SSL, encryption software, high-end firewalls, and automatic log off, your information is always safe and secure.

• Authentication ensures that you, the legitimate user is communicating with us and not a fraudster who does not have authority to access your online accounts.

• SSL stands for "Secure Socket Layer." This technology allows users to establish sessions with secure Internet sites, meaning they have minimal risk of external violation. Once inside the Internet Banking site, our use of SSL technology keeps you and your account information secure.

• Encryption turns words and phrases into coded language. All of your online activities during an Internet banking session become a string of unrecognizable numbers before entering the Internet. We employ the strongest forms of cryptography that are commercially available for use over the Internet, so your account information will read as gibberish to everyone but you and our financial institution.

• High-end firewalls protect our computer systems interacting with the Internet against unauthorized access by outside individuals or networks.

• Automatic log off is done automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity during an Internet banking session. So if you forget to log off after your online session, we will do this for you to prevent anyone else from accessing your account.

From the moment account information leaves your computer to the time it enters our Internet banking system; we take numerous steps to ensure your information is secure in cyberspace. We make sure only authorized people with secure browsers can access our system.

• You must enter your passcode, and we must verify it before you are allowed to access your accounts.
• Only browsers supporting the SSL security protocol with 128 bit encryption can be used to log on to our system.
• Once online, we make sure only you can view any information about your accounts.
• SSL uses a digital signature to make sure that no one can send you false information; your browser will only accept information from the Internet Banking system.
• SSL also uses the highest level of encryption supported by your browser to encrypt all information before it is sent. This ensures that only the browser that logged on can read any information the system supplies.

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