Our Fraud Protection Tips

• Change passwords regularly for sites that have a lot of personal information, financial details, and private data.
• Don’t reuse passwords. Each password for online accounts should be unique so that if one account is compromised, multiple accounts will not be at risk.
• Make sure your password is at least eight characters long and contains:
  • Both uppercase and lowercase letters
  • Numbers
  • Symbols
• Make sure your password doesn’t contain your:
  • Real name
  • Username
  • Any other personally identifying information
• Download apps, password generators, and password management apps to help you remember passwords.
• Use 2-Step Authentication and App Passwords whenever possible.
• If your laptop, personal computer, or mobile device is compromised, have it professionally screened for malware and update your online passwords before going back online.

If you see something suspicious, report it immediately. Call your local branch or our Client Support department at 800-279-0007 (Personal Banking) or 833-774-6897 (Business Banking) to secure your account.

• Substantial measures are in place to protect your identity against theft and fraud:
  • Internal Confidentiality – Access to nonpublic information about you is limited to employees on a need-to-know basis only.
  • Employee Training – We train and test our employees on handling sensitive and confidential information to help protect our clients against fraud and identity theft.
  • Privacy Policies – Our Privacy Policy protects your personal and financial information and our policies are stringent and strictly enforced.
  • Online Security – Multiple security measures have been implemented and are continually updated to protect your Internet banking transactions. These include:
    • A password-controlled system entry
    • Multi-Factor Authentication
    • a Geotrust-issued Digital ID for the bank’s server
    • Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol for data encryption
    • Firewall and application firewall to regulate the inflow and outflow of traffic
    • Robust anti-spyware, anti-malware, and security software
    • Behavior analysis to detect and alert on suspected fraud

• If you are an identity theft victim, take the following steps immediately:
  • Download the ID Theft Affidavit Form here. Forms are also available on the FTC website or at any bank branch. The ID Theft Affidavit provides instructions on what you should do and helps document your information. There are two parts to this form:
    • Part One — the ID Theft Affidavit —where you report general information about yourself and the theft.
    • Part Two — the Fraudulent Account Statement — where you describe the fraudulent account(s) opened in your name. Use a separate Fraudulent Account Statement for each company you need to contact.
  • Contact the three national consumer reporting agencies. Ask each agency to place a “fraud alert” on your credit report and to send you a copy of your credit file. When you have completed your affidavit packet, you may want to send them a copy to help them investigate the disputed activity.
    • Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc.
      • 1-800-685-1111 to obtain a copy of your report
      • Fraud Assistance Number: 888-766-0008
      • P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 303-740-241
    • Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
      • 888-397-3742
      • P.O. Box 9530, Allen, TX 75013
    • TransUnion
      • 800-680-7289, TDD: 877-553-7803
      • Fraud Victim Assistance Division
      • P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 926-346-790
  • Contact your local police department. Ask the officer to take a report and request both the report number and a copy of the report. Provide the police department with a copy of your ID Theft Affidavit to add to the police report and verify the crime.
  • Contact the fraud department at each creditor, bank, or utility/service that provided the identity thief with unauthorized credit, goods, or services. Find out if the company will accept the affidavit and if they require notarization or a copy of the police report.
  • Contact the Federal Trade Commission ftc.gov, which maintains the Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, the federal government’s centralized identity theft complaint database. The site also provides useful information for identity theft victims. Can call toll-free 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338), visit https://www.identitytheft.gov/ or send mail to:
    • Identity Theft Data ClearinghouseFederal Trade Commission600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20580Note: The FTC collects complaints from identity theft victims and shares their information with law enforcement nationwide. This information may be shared with other government agencies, consumer reporting agencies, and companies where the fraud was perpetrated to help resolve identity theft-related problems.
  • If you believe someone has used your SSN fraudulently, complete IRS Form 14039 to mark your account to identify questionable activity. The IRS’s Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft aids victims whose Social Security number has been compromised. If you have experienced tax-related identity theft, visit identitytheft.gov to report it and file the IRS form all at once.

Financial elder abuse is the theft or embezzlement of money or any other property from an elder or vulnerable adult. It can be as simple as taking money from a wallet and as complicated as manipulating a victim into turning over property to an abuser. AARP.org advises:

1. Designate someone you trust as your financial Power of Attorney.
2. Appoint a trusted contact for accounts and investments.
3. Sign up for an anti-fraud service that tracks your bank accounts, investments, and credit cards and advises you of potential identity theft.
4. Stay in touch with your older loved ones.
5. Get to know your loved one’s caregivers.

Also read:

Protecting Seniors from Financial Exploitation – American National Bank

Seniors are fraud targets – American National Bank

If you suspect Elder Abuse or Financial Exploitation, contact your local law enforcement or the Adult Protective Services (APS) agency in the state where the victim resides. Find the APS reporting number for each state by visiting:

• The State Resources section at the National Center on Elder Abuse or Eldercare Locator  or call 800-677-1116.

• Regularly monitor your bank and credit card accounts.
• Set up balance and transaction Alerts and Notifications on the ANB Go app.
• Keep your contact information up to date. Make sure you can be contacted if there is suspected fraud on your account, and if you still receive paper statements, make sure they are going to the right address.
• Reduce the risk of stolen mail and account information by setting up paperless billing and statements.
• Before you provide personal information to your bank, doctor’s office, other businesses and/or your employer, ask how they will use and protect it.
• Never carry your Social Security card or number, birth certificate or passport unless necessary.
• Report lost or stolen checks immediately and review newly delivered checks to make sure none were stolen in transit.
• Do not print your Social Security number or driver’s license number on your checks.
• Never give identifying information over the phone or via theInternet to someone you do not know.
• Shred financial solicitations or financial statements before disposing of them.
• Avoid mail theft – deposit your mail into a secure, official US Postal Service collection box.
• If regular bills fail to reach you, call the company to find out why. Someone might have filed a false change-of-address notice to divert your mail and steal your identity.
• Do not use common publicly accessible personal information, such as a phone number, birth dates, etc., as passwords.
• Keep a list of credit card and bank account numbers, expiration dates and phone numbers in a safe place.
• Never leave your purse or billfold unattended (for example, in your car, motel room, walking trails, the gym, etc.).
• Protect all PINs and passwords and change them often. Use a combination of lower- and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Use anti-virus protection software.
• Do not open email attachments or links from unknown senders.
• Check web addresses to ensure that they are secure with the prefix “https”
• Get a free copy of your credit report every year. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, (or FACT Act) requires each of the three credit reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. Get your report at www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228.

These websites contain more information on securing sensitive data and protecting yourself or your business from identity theft and fraud. If you have any questions, please contact our bank Security Officer.

• • American National Bank is committed to sharing fraud-related information in our News & Insights section of our website.
  • Fraud Awareness & Prevention Checklist – a useful guide for commercial accounts to verify that necessary fraud prevention and risk management controls are in place to protect your business.
  • Federal Trade Commission – ftc.gov consumer protection site
  • StopFraud.gov – a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force that wages aggressive and coordinated investigations and prosecutions of financial frauds and maximizes the ability both to recover the proceeds of these frauds and obtain just and effective punishment of those who commit them.

While you should be monitoring your accounts regularly, it’s probably not possible to keep an eye on your accounts 24 hours a day.  That’s why setting up alerts and notifications on ANB Go and ANB Go Business can help you identify when a transaction has occurred that you did not authorize. You can also set up balance alerts for when your account goes below a particular balance. In addition, make sure your contact information is up to date (address, phone and email address) and establish notifications that let you know when an attempt to log-in or changes to your account have occurred. Check our Resources page to access the user guides for ANB Go and ANB Go Business and learn how to change your security preferences and set up alerts and notifications.