Identity Theft Resources

If you think you have been a victim of identity theft, click here to learn what to do next!

Prevent, Detect, Correct, & Report!

What is 'Phishing'?

Phishing (FISH.ing) 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.

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.

View a brochure on Phishing & other internet scams provided by the regulatory agencies of banks, thrifts, & credit unions.

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  (this is not a First National Bank affiliated email)

• Forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov (this is not a First National Bank affiliated email)

• 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

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 at www.annualcreditreport.com 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

Credit Reports - www.annualcreditreport.com

• You are entitled to 1 free credit report every 12 months from each of the three credit bureaus.  They can all be received securely and at not charge at this website.

• Don't fall for people wanting to "sell" you free credit reports.

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 Fraud Complaint Center(IFCC) by visiting their website: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

• The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), with a mission to address fraud committed over the Internet

• For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC 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.consumer.gov/idtheft/
http://www.identity-theft-help.us/
http://www.identitytheft.org/
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm

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:

1. Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information

2. Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately

3. They typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.

4. 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.

5. 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

6. Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information

7. Only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone

8. Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser

9. 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://"

Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known phishing fraud websites

EarthLink ScamBlocker is just one of many free browser toolbars that alerts you before you visit a page that's on the service provider's list of known fraudulent phisher websites.

EarthLink's toolbar is free to all Internet users and can be downloaded http://www.earthlink.net/earthlinktoolbar

1. Regularly log into your online accounts

2. Don't leave it for as long as a month before you check each account

3. 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

4. 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