E-Mail and Website Fraud
Sarasota Coastal Credit Union will never request personal information through email or pop-up windows.
Avoid Email Fraud and Protect Your Privacy
From time to time, some of our members reported receiving email messages that appeared to be from Sarasota Coastal Credit Union that requested confidential personal information. These email messages were disguised to look like a Sarasota Coastal Credit Union message, but did not come from us.
Sarasota Coastal Credit Union does not solicit confidential client information this way. These messages are fraudulent and they are not from us. If you happen to get one, do not respond to it.
If you have already responded to one of these messages, or have logged on to a site that appeared to be Sarasota Coastal Credit Union's Coastal PB online banking after following a link in one of these, please call (941) 907-4000 or (800) 318-5481 out of area immediately.
Protecting yourself
Con artists and scams are an unpleasant fact of life, and to criminals the Internet is just another way to take advantage of the unsuspecting. While electronic fraud has become a real problem in recent years, a little knowledge is all you need to protect yourself and your identity.
What you need to know
Electronic fraud is just like any other type of fraud, it's a criminal pretending to be something they're not. In the electronic world, this can mean emails with forged addresses or websites that are designed to resemble legitimate businesses. These false solicitations always have one thing in common: they ask you to provide personal information, often by asking you to "update your account information" by providing Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or other information. Once they have this information, it is easy for an experienced criminal to create a false identity for himself, using your name, and your credit.
While the technology behind these crimes is complex, preventing them is easy. Never give out sensitive personal information online unless you're absolutely certain you can trust the site, and never send out sensitive information in an email.
All electronic contact with Sarasota Coastal Credit Union, where we request sensitive account information, is done either from one of our secure, online contact forms or inside the secure message feature of our Coastal PB online banking. If you're uncomfortable with transmitting any financial data online you always have the option to contact us at (941) 907-4000 or (800) 318-5481 out of area, or to visit your local branch.
Fraudulent E-mails
They are used to lure unsuspecting internet users to a fake website.
They are designed to look like they are coming from legitimate businesses.
They claim to require urgent action to avoid account suspension.
They trick people into complying with requests in order to prevent potential compromise.
They are used to steal passwords, financial or personal information, or introduce a virus attack.
Avoid electronic fraud
Keep these simple rules in mind and you'll be better equipped to protect yourself:
Never send sensitive personal or financial information through email.
Don't follow links in an email asking for sensitive personal or account information, even if it looks like the source is one you know.
Ask questions. If you're suspicious, call the company that the email appears to be from and ask if it's legitimate.
Install anti-virus software on your computer and keep it up-to-date. Anti-virus programs help protect your computer against most viruses, worms, and Trojans that can infect your computer. Most anti-virus software companies provide updates from their websites. Some of the most popular programs are McAfee VirusScan and Norton AntiVirus.
Download and use a pop-up blocker from a legitimate source. Some pop-up ads could contain viruses or other harmful software that can record your keystrokes or relay other information to another source.
Equip your computer with either a software firewall or a hardware firewall. A firewall will allow you to limit unauthorized access to your computer.
Keep your computer operating system, Web browser, and security settings up-to-date. Security patches and updates are usually available from the software vendors' websites.
Scan your computer for spyware regularly. Spyware is a computer program which can be installed on personal computers, usually without your permission, which may collect information about your website activity and send it back to another source.
Only keep your internet connection active when you are using it.
Turn off your computer when you are not using it.
Never share your PIN, account number, or password.
Do not open email attachments unless you can trust the source.
Never access sensitive information from Internet cafes, public libraries, etc.
You can read more about electronic fraud or report suspicious email activity at the Federal Trade Commission website.
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