Freehold Savings Bank is committed to protecting your privacy and security. We will never initiate a request for sensitive information, such as a Social Security number, account number or PIN, from you via email, phone or over the Internet. You should never share your personal ID, password, PIN or account number with anyone. Below are some of the safeguards we have in place to protect against security breaches in the online environment:
Our system is designed to limit online account access to those possessing the Access ID and Password associated with your online account(s).
We have encryption technology in place (currently, 128 bit SSL) that allows for the protection of data in transit between your computer and ours. A secure website address will begin with https:// (the “s” signifies secure). The “closed lock” icon will usually indicate whether a communication session is encrypted also.
Our computer systems include “firewalls” that are monitored and that are designed to protect against unauthorized access to our systems.
Our system is designed to log you off automatically after a set period of inactivity.
Things you should do to protect yourself online:
Access ID and Password – Please follow these rules to protect yourself
When you are done online, log-off (look for the log-off link we provide). We suggest you do this before you shut your computer off and before you surf to any other web sites.
Sometimes criminals may send you email that looks like it has come from Freehold Savings Bank, a regulator or an auditor. These phony emails ask you to go to a website that also looks like Freehold Savings Bank’s website and provide your personal account information. Many thieves or hackers will send you an e-mail that will ask you to click on a link that takes you to a web site (or pop-up window) where you will be asked to “confirm”, “verify”, “update” or otherwise provide sensitive information (such as your account number, password, PIN, or social security number). Some of these phony emails even caution that if you don't do this, your account may be suspended. But the website is also a fake, and this is a fraud attempt.
This is the most common type of online fraud, and is called "phishing and spoofing". Criminals send these phony email messages or direct someone to a fraudulent website for one goal, to steal personal and financial information.
If you should ever receive an email that appears to be suspicious, do not reply to it or click on the link it provides. Simply delete it. To report a suspicious email that uses Freehold Savings Bank’s name or you have general questions about the bank or your accounts, please contact us at 732-462-6711.
There are numerous tools available for you to detect fraudulent websites when searching for information.
McAfee’s Site Advisor includes safety ratings to sites and search results to help protect you from adware, spam, and online scams. Site Advisor will also help protect you against Phishing. To learn more or download Site Advisor for Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, go to siteadvisor.com/download/ie_learnmore.html
Earthlink’s ScamBlocker helps protect you from online scams that try to steal your personal information by displaying a security rating for every Web site you visit and alerting you before you enter a Web site on a list of known fraudulent sites. To learn more or download Earthlink’s ScamBlocker for Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, go to www.earthlink.net/software/free/toolbar/
Spyware and viruses are both malicious programs that are loaded onto your computer without your knowledge. Whether the goal of these programs is to capture or destroy information, to ruin the performance of your computer, or to bombard you with advertising, you don't want them.
Spyware disguises itself as a legitimate application and embeds itself into your computer, to monitor your activity and collect information. Spyware and viruses are both serious threats to the security of your computer.
Spyware and viruses are malicious programs that are loaded onto your computer without your knowledge.
Spyware is designed to allow unauthorized access to computer systems. Spyware can be used to steal your personal information. Some spyware programs can detect the numbers and letters you enter on your keyboard such as passwords.
Viruses are designed to make copies of them selves, quickly using up your computer's memory. Some viruses can transmit across computer networks.
There are several easy ways to protect your computer against viruses and spyware:
Make sure your computer has an anti-spyware protection program that detects and removes all forms of spyware, which can steal vital information. Use this program to scan your computer frequently. Many software companies offer software that will protect you from a wide variety of spyware threats, and also will provide customer service in case you have questions. To keep up with any new threats, be sure to keep your anti-spyware program updated.
Make sure your computer has an anti-virus protection program that detects and removes viruses. Software from major providers will protect you from a wide variety of threats, and also will provide customer service in case you have questions. Be sure to always keep your anti-virus program updated.
Buy a protection program that automatically upgrades your spyware or virus protection on a recurring basis. If you don't have this automatic upgrade feature, make sure you update your spyware and virus detection programs weekly, as well as whenever you hear of a new computer threat.
Don't open attachments or diskettes unless you're sure that you can trust the source. Learn how to manually screen diskettes and attachments if your anti-virus software doesn't automatically do so.
Pop-ups are the advertisements that "pop up" in a separate browser window. When you click on some of these pop-ups, it's possible that you're also downloading "spyware" or "adware."
Sometimes, criminals create pop-up ads that look like they come from a respected financial institution and ask you to enter personal financial information, but Freehold Savings Bank and most other financial institutions will never ask you to verify personal financial information in pop-ups.
Additionally, some pop-ups will appear to "detect" spyware or viruses on your computer. At best, these are advertisements to direct you to sites where you may purchase software to combat these problems. At worst, these pop-ups may actually lead you to install these unwanted computer pests.
The best thing to do is immediately close any pop-up ad window. Do not enter information or respond in any way.
We also recommend that you activate a pop-up blocking tool. There are many companies that offer pop-up blocking software, and many Internet browser companies are starting to integrate pop-up blocking tools into the newer versions of their products.
Vishing is the criminal practice of using social engineering and Voice over IP (VoIP) to gain access to private personal and financial information from the public for the purpose of financial reward. The term is a combination of "voice" and phishing.
When the victim answers the call, an automated recording, often generated with a text to speech synthesizer, is played to alert the consumer that their credit card has had fraudulent activity or that their bank account has had unusual activity. The message instructs the consumer to call the following phone number immediately. The same phone number is often shown in the spoofed caller ID and given the same name as the financial company they are pretending to represent.
Consumers are advised to be highly suspicious when receiving messages directing them to call and provide credit card or bank numbers. Rather than provide any information, the consumer is advised to contact their bank or credit card company directly to verify the validity of the message.
Smishing is a form of criminal activity using social engineering techniques similar to phishing. Smishing victims receive SMS messages. Known as "smishing," these text messages might ask a recipient to register for an online service -- then try to sneak a virus onto the users' device.
Some messages warn that the consumer will be charged unless he cancels his supposed order by going to a Web site that then extracts such credit card numbers and other private data.
BEST PRACTICES
Protect your own computer by doing these things: