Protecting Yourself and Others
Education and awareness is the best way to protect yourself and each other from falling victim to fraud. Here, you’ll find some tips and resources regarding fraud protection.
We highly encourage you to help educate others by sharing this information with your friends and family. It will help them stay safe—regardless of where they bank.
Remember, never provide your personal information when you are unsure of the source. Also, do research before you cash checks from unexpected givers!
Be wary of any seemingly legitimate phone call, text message, or email requests that ask for personal information. Additionally, here are some more tips for protecting yourself:
Computer Security
How to Protect Yourself
- Change passwords frequently and use creative, dynamic passwords.
- Use anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware software and keep them updated.
- Some websites may harm your computer. If a website appears to be suspicious leave the site immediately.
- Use spam filters on your e-mail to reduce the amount of unsolicited materials that you may receive.
- DO NOT open unsolicited email attachments.
What Could Happen
- A fraudster could hack your accounts and obtain information that allows them to masquerade as you and steal your identity.
- A fraudster could hack your computer and take control of your computer. This can result in a scam known as Ransomware.
- Some websites or emails may install harmful viruses or malware to your computer. This may lead to theft of personal information or a Ransomware situation.
Protecting Your Information
How to Protect Yourself
- NEVER give your personal information over the phone, text or email.
- NEVER email personal or financial information. Legitimate institutions will not ask for sensitive information via unsecure email.
- Only do businesses with reputable companies that you know and trust. Check reviews on these companies before making a purchase.
- Review credit card and account statements regularly so that you can identify any unauthorized or suspicious transactions.
- Enroll in paperless statements. This reduces the risk of your statements being stolen from your mailbox.
- Check your credit report at least once a year to check for unknown accounts that may be fraudulently opened.
- NEVER write account numbers or ATM PINs on paper or carry them with you. These numbers should be memorized to prevent unauthorized persons from withdrawing your money from your account.
- Shield your PIN as you input it into a terminal to prevent people from watching and stealing your PIN.
What Could Happen
- Fraudsters use a scam called "phishing” to get your personal and financial information. They may impersonate many different organizations, such as financial institutions, the IRS, etc.
- Companies can use this information to create fake profiles using your personal information.
- 3Rivers has a limited time-frame to dispute unauthorized transactions. If you do not identify unauthorized transactions within this time-frame, you may be out that money.
- Fraudsters can use your information to commit identity theft.
- Fraudsters can use your PIN to withdraw large amounts of money from your account at ATMs.
Keep Your Information Updated
3Rivers works very hard to monitor and protect your accounts. It’s crucial that you keep your contact information updated. We may contact you to verify potential risks that could be associated with your accounts due to suspicious activity in your account, possible fraudulent transactions, retailer security breaches, and more. Let us know immediately if your primary address, phone number, or email address has changed.
Identity Theft
In this day and age, identity thieves have multiple ways to steal, or attempt to steal, your personal and sensitive information. Learn more about identity theft and read our blog post for more information.
More Resources
For more resources on protecting yourself from fraud, click here.