Identity Theft

Identity Theft:

Tools to Prevent Identity Theft

Marblehead Bank has bank privacy policies in place to protect your identity and your accounts against theft and fraud. Password protection for online transactions help assure online security when using our online services, you develop a secret password that only you know. The bank also has another layer of authentication for the protection of online transactions. OnGuard provides strong authentication to protect our customer’s online account from unauthorized access.

OnGuard uses a series of personal questions, and tracks the way our customers access our secure site. At each logon, OnGuard will check the way our customers are accessing our site. When there are certain access changes, and at certain intervals, OnGuard will challenge our customers to answer one of their personal questions to ensure their identity. There is no additional hardware or software required. It is simple, safe and reliable.

Encryption of online transactions with Marblehead Bank converts your information into secure code, protecting you against hackers.

Three forms of identity theft on the Internet are described below:

PHISHING: This high-tech scam uses spam to deceive customers into disclosing their credit/debit card numbers, bank account information, social security numbers, passwords, and other sensitive person information. Customers are usually deceived by deceptive emails and or fake (spoofed) websites. The classic phishing attack involves a deceptive email that claims to be from a legitimate financial institution. The email typically tells the customer that there is some sort of problem with the customer’s account. The email usually includes a hyperlink to a spoofed website that looks exactly like the site of the legitimate financial institution. The email typically instructs the recipient to click on the included hyperlink, go to the financial institution website, and log in using the customer’s user name and password in order to fix the problem. In reality, the spoofed website is simply collecting customer user name and passwords in order to hijack accounts.

HACKING: Fraudsters hack into financial institution or service provider computer systems and databases to steal confidential customer information. Marblehead Bank has stringent security on its financial information.

SPYWARE: Information necessary to hijack accounts is obtained by inserting malicious software, often referred to as spyware, on a customer’s personal computer at home or on a computer used by many customers in a public facility like an Internet café. Spyware can be secretly loaded when a user opens a seemingly safe email attachment or clicks on a pop-up advertisement. The spyware collects selected information (ex. User names, passwords, account numbers) from customers of certain financial institutions and forwards that information to the fraudster. A common type of spyware is a keystroke logger, a program that records what the user types on the computer keyboard and sends that information to the person who installed the program.

Maximum security is only possible with the help of our customers.

Below are some suggestions:

1. Do not give out financial information such as account numbers of your checking, savings, debit, or credit card. Do not give out your Social Security number, unless you know the person or organization.
2. Report lost or stolen checks immediately.
3. Notify us of any suspicious phone inquiries such as those asking for account information to “verify a statement” or “award a prize.”
4. Closely guard your ATM and/or Debit card Personal Identification Number and ATM and/or Debit receipts.
5. Shred any financial solicitations and bank statements before deposing of them.
6. Put outgoing mail into a secure, official Postal Service collection box.
7. If regular bills fail to reach you call the company to find out why.
8. If your bills include questionable items don’t ignore them. Instead investigate immediately to prevent any possible fraud.
9. Periodically contact the major credit report companies to review your file and make certain the information is correct. (See information below related to FACT Act to learn about obtaining free reports.)
10. Credit Reporting Bureaus

Equifax (www.equifax.com)
Place a fraud alert: 1-888-766-0008
Order a credit report: 1-800-685-1111

Experian (www.experian.com)
Place a fraud alert: 1-888-397-3742
Order a credit report: 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion (www.transunion.com)
Place a fraud alert: 1-800-680-7289
Order a credit report: 1-800-888-4213

FACT Act Will Help Fight Identity Theft

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) will help reduce identity theft according to Congress and the Federal Trade Commission. For example, one provision requires the three major credit-reporting agencies to provide consumers with a free copy of their own credit report.

Another provision to help prevent identity theft is the National Fraud Alert System. Consumers, who reasonably suspect they have been or may be victimized by identity theft, or who are military personnel on active duty away from home, can place an alert on their credit files. The alert will put potential creditors on notice that they must proceed with caution when granting credit.

Other measures that will help consumers recover their credit reputation after they have been victimized:

• Credit reporting agencies must stop reporting allegedly fraudulent account information when a consumer establishes that her or she has been the victim of identity theft
• Creditors or businesses must provide copies of business records or fraudulent accounts or transactions related to them. This information can assist victims in proving that they are, in fact, victims.
• Consumers will be allowed to report accounts affected by identity theft directly to creditors – in addition to credit reporting agencies to prevent the spread of erroneous information.

HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE CREDIT REPORT:
www.annualcreditreport.com
(877)322-8228

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