Security

Sturdy Savings Bank is committed to protecting customers and scrupulously guarding their personal information and accounts. Security is a top priority, and we encourage customers to be aware of the latest scams, frauds and theft trends.

Please visit the following links for detailed descriptions of how we protect customers.

Additional Resources

Below is a list of additional resources and tips to help you further safeguard your personal information:

  • A Bank Customer's Guide to Cybersecurity (pdf) **New 03/16**
    FDIC Consumer News,special edition,providing safety precautions for Internet Banking, online shopping, avoiding identify theft and much more. Test your Cybersecurity IQ and review the Cybersecurity checklist for quick tips.
  • Identity Theft:
    This website is a one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help businesses and consumers deter, detect, and defend against identity theft.
  • Consumer alerts from the FDIC:
    Find resources provided by the FDIC to educate and protect consumers, revitalize communities, and promote compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act and fair lending laws.
  • Guard Against Fraud:
    Get practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.
  • Five Practical Tips:
    The Federal Reserve provides consumers information about foreclosure, identity theft, credit card regulations and more.
  • Scam Watch:
    Visit this section of the Federal Trade Commission's Money Matters website for detailed information on a variety of scams. The site includes interviews, lists of ways to spot scams, and links to valuable articles on the FTC site.
  • FFIEC Consumer Guidance (pdf)
    Multi-factor authentication and layered security are helping assure safe Internet transactions for banks and their customers. Read more about what we are doing to protect your Online Banking and what you can do to protect yourself.
  • FFIEC Business Account Guidance (pdf)
    New financial standards are assisting banks and business account holders to make Online Banking safer and more secure from account hijacking and unauthorized transfers. Read more about what we are doing to protect your Online Banking and what you can do to protect yourself.

Credit Bureau Links

You are entitled to a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Equifax®
1-800-525-6285

Experian®
1-888-397-3742

TransUnion®
1-800-680-7289

Security Center

Privacy

The privacy of communications between you (your browser) and our servers is ensured via encryption. Encryption scrambles messages exchanged between your browser and our online banking server.

How Encryption Works

  • When visiting online banking's sign-on page, your browser establishes a secure session with our server.
  • The secure session is established using a protocol called Transport Layer Security(TLS) Encryption. This protocol requires the exchange of what are called public and private keys.
  • Keys are random numbers chosen for that session and are only known between your browser and our server. Once keys are exchanged, your browser will use the numbers to scramble (encrypt) the messages sent between your browser and our server.
  • Both sides require the keys because they need to descramble (decrypt) messages received. The TLS protocol assures privacy, but also ensures no other website can "impersonate" your financial institution's website, nor alter information sent.
  • To learn whether your browser is in secure mode, look for the secured lock symbol at the bottom of your browser window.

Encryption Level

The numbers used as encryption keys are similar to combination locks. The strength of encryption is based on the number of possible combinations a lock can have. The more possible combinations, the less likely someone could guess the combination to decrypt the message.

To ensure you have the highest encryption level, please be sure to update your browser to the most recent version:

Authorization

It is important to verify that only authorized persons log into online banking. This is achieved by verifying your password. When you submit your password, it is compared with the password we have stored in our secure data center.

We allow you to enter your password incorrectly a limited number of times; too many incorrect passwords will result in the locking of your online banking account until you call us to reinitialize the account. We monitor and record "bad-login" attempts to detect any suspicious activity (i.e. someone trying to guess your password).

You play a crucial role in preventing others from logging on to your account. Never use easy-to-guess passwords. Examples:

  • Birth dates
  • First names
  • Pet names
  • Addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Social Security numbers

Never reveal your password to another person. You should periodically change your password in the User Option screen of online banking.

Network Security

The network architecture used to provide the online banking service was designed by the brightest minds in network technology. The architecture is too complex to explain here, but it is important to convey that the computers storing your actual account information are not linked directly to the Internet.

  • Transactions initiated through the Internet are received by our online banking Web servers
  • These servers route your transaction through firewall servers
  • Firewall servers act as a traffic cop between segments of our online banking network used to store information, and the public Internet.
  • This configuration isolates the publicly accessible Web servers from data stored on our online banking servers and ensures only authorized requests are processed.

Various access control mechanisms, including intrusion detection and anti-virus, monitor for and protect our systems from potential malicious activity. Additionally, our online banking servers are fault-tolerant, and provide for uninterruptible access, even in the event of various types of failures.

Security Features

We provide a number of additional security features in online banking. For example, online banking will "timeout" after a specified period of inactivity. This prevents curious persons from continuing your online banking session if you left your PC unattended without logging out. You may set the timeout period in online banking's User Options screen. We recommend that you always sign off (log out) when done banking online.

Identity Theft Info

What is 'Phishing'?

phishing (FISH.ing) pp. Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information. -phisher n.

Example Citations:

Phishing is the term coined by hackers who imitate legitimate companies in email messages to entice people to share passwords or credit-card numbers. Recent victims include Bank of America, Best Buy and eBay, where people were directed to Web pages that looked nearly identical to the companies' sites.

What is 'Spoofing'?

Pretending to be something it is not, whether an email, website, etc…

How to report 'Phishing' or 'Spoofing'

We suggest reporting "phishing" or "spoofed" emails to the following groups:

  • Forward the email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org
  • Forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov
  • Forward the email to the "abuse" email address at the company that is being spoofed (e.g. "spoof@ebay.com")
  • When forwarding spoofed messages, always include the entire original email with its original header information intact
  • Notify the Internet Fraud Complaint Center of the FBI by filing a complaint on their website: www.ifccfbi.gov

Recommended actions if you've become a victim of phishing or other identity theft scam

If you have given out your credit or debit or ATM card information:

  • Report the incident to the card issuer as quickly as possible
  • Many companies have toll-free numbers and 24-hour service to deal with such emergencies
  • Cancel your account and open a new one
  • Review your billing statements carefully after the loss
  • If the statements show any unauthorized charges, it's best to send a letter to the card issuer via regular mail (keep a copy for yourself) describing each questionable charge

Credit Card Loss or Fraudulent Charges

Your maximum liability under federal law for unauthorized use of your credit card is $50 (many financial services companies have different policies so be sure to check with each of them). If the loss involves your credit card number, but not the card itself, you have no liability for unauthorized use; in general, you may only be liable for a very small amount but always check with your individual card company for their exact policy.

ATM or Debit Card Loss or Fraudulent Transfers

  • Your liability under federal law for unauthorized use of your ATM or debit card depends on how quickly you report the loss.
  • You risk unlimited loss if you fail to report an unauthorized transfer within 60 days after your bank statement containing unauthorized use is mailed to you.

If you have given out your bank account information

  • Report the theft of this information to the bank as quickly as possible
  • Cancel your account and open a new one

If you have downloaded a virus or 'Trojan Horse'

Some phishing attacks use viruses and/or 'Trojan Horses' to install programs called "key loggers" on your computer. These programs capture and send out any information that you type to the phisher, including credit card numbers, usernames and passwords, Social Security Numbers, etc.

  • If this happens, it's likely you may not be aware of it.
  • To minimize this risk, you should:
    • Install and/or update anti-virus and personal firewall software
    • Update all virus definitions and run a full scan
    • If your system appears to have been compromised, fix it and then change your password again, since you may well have transmitted the new one to the hacker
    • Check your other accounts! The fraudsters may have helped themselves to many different accounts: eBay account, PayPal, your email ISP, online bank accounts, online trading accounts, and other e-commerce accounts, and everything else for which you use online password

If you have given out your personal identification information

  • Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. If you have given out this kind of information to a phisher, you should do the following:
    • Report the theft to the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion Corporation, and do the following:
      • Request that they place a fraud alert and a victim's statement in your file
      • Request a FREE copy of your credit report to check whether any accounts were opened without your consent
      • Request that the agencies remove inquiries and/or fraudulent accounts stemming from the theft

Identity Theft Info

Equifax - www.equifax.com

  • To order your report, call: 800-685-1111 or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  • To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285 and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  • Hearing impaired call 1-800-255-0056 and ask the operator to call the Auto Disclosure Line at 1-800-685-1111 to request a copy of your report.

Experian - www.experian.com

  • To order your report, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write: P.O. Box 2002, Allen TX 75013
  • To report fraud, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) and write: P.O. Box 9530, Allen TX 75013 TDD: 1-800-972-0322

Trans Union - www.transunion.com

  • To order your report, call: 800-888-4213 or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
  • To report fraud, call: 800-680-7289 and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634 TDD: 1-877-553-7803

Notify your bank(s) and ask them to flag your account and contact you regarding any unusual activity:

  • If bank accounts were set up without your consent, close them
  • If your ATM card was stolen, get a new card, account number and PIN
  • Contact your local police department to file a criminal report
  • Contact the Social Security Administration's Fraud Hotline to report the unauthorized use of your personal identification information
  • Notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of your identity theft
  • Check to see whether an unauthorized license number has been issued in your name
  • Notify the passport office to watch out for anyone ordering a passport in your name. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
  • Ask for a free copy of "ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen in Your Good Name," a guide that will help you guard against and recover from your theft.
  • File a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center(IC3) by visiting their website: http://www.ic3.gov
  • The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance(BJA) with a mission to address fraud committed over the Internet
  • For victims of Internet fraud, IC3 provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation.
    Document the names and phone numbers of everyone you speak to regarding the incident. Follow-up your phone calls with letters. Keep copies of all correspondence.

Identify Theft Resources

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

http://www.identity-theft-help.us/

http://www.identitytheft.org/

http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html

http://www.ic3.gov

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/data.shtm

How to practice 'safe computing'

The number and sophistication of phishing and spoofing scams sent out to consumers is continuing to increase dramatically. While online banking is widely considered to be as safe or safer than in-branch or ATM banking, as a general rule you should be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet. Below is a list of recommendations you can use to avoid becoming a victim of these scams:

  • Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information
  • Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately
  • They typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.
  • Phisher emails typically are not as personalized and may contain spelling errors while valid messages from your bank or e-commerce company generally are accurate in the way they spell your name and your financial institution's name.
  • Don't use the links in an email to get to any Web page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic. Instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser
  • Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information
  • Only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone
  • Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser
  • A secure Web server designation can be found by checking the beginning of the Web address in your browser's address bar - it should be "https://" rather than just "http://"
  • Regularly log into your online accounts
  • Don't leave it for as long as a month before you check each account
  • Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate; if anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers
  • Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied; always visit your browser's home page to download the latest security patches even if they don't alert you to do so