Protect Yourself Online

Members must be reminded that it is their responsibility to inform the credit union immediately upon discovering or suspecting unauthorized account activity or if their login ID and/or password has been compromised.

Below are key points that members must utilize in order to protect their home PC/laptop and subsequently their personal banking information:

Financial institutions do not solicit personal information from them either over the phone or by email.

Do not share online account information (login IDs, passwords) with anyone, including family members. 

A significant amount of online fraud is friendly fraud, where family members have gained access to a member’s account and have used the member’s funds to their advantage without approval of the member.

PC/Laptop, Network Practices

• Banking System Passwords — Passwords must be kept secured and should be changed on a regular basis (i.e., every six months at daylight savings time), to ensure your bank accounts are protected.

• Virus protection — Use virus protection software and firewall software from reputable companies on all of their home PCs/laptops that they use for online banking.

• The software should have the functionality to be automatically updated with the latest virus protection files on a regular basis, i.e., daily at login.

• You should keep the software active for the life of the PC/laptop, as a lot of the off-the-shelf software is subscription based.  Typically, it will be kept current and up to date for one year from date of registration.  Once the subscription has expired, regular updates will not be received from the vendor, and the PC/laptop will be at risk of attack.

• Fire Walls — Use a firewall and have the security features of the firewall enabled at all times to prevent unauthorized access.

• Encryption — 128-bit encryption is the most current and most secure form of data encryption available to the home PC/laptop. Members should be advised that they must have 128-bit encryption enabled on all PCs/laptops used for online banking.

• Caching — Clear your computer’s cache after each online banking session.  The cache is a function of their internet software that stores recently viewed pages.  This information is a criminal’s access to members banking sources.

• History — Clear the history from your web browser after each session. History allows attackers to follow where members have been on the internet in the past.

• Bookmarking pages — Don't bookmark your banking websites, as this will provide the criminal a starting point to look for banking information. Links to your online banking site should always be typed in each time.  This also prevents a criminal from inserting phoney banking pages by allowing them to modify the bookmarked link.

• Wireless networks — Don't use wireless networks such as those found in internet cafes for your banking. Security on wireless networks outside of the member’s home or place of occupation is not what it always appears to be.

• Caution using PCs/laptops not their own — Do not do your online banking on PCs/laptops that are not directly under your control at all times.

• Security updates — Install new security patches as soon as their operating system and internet browser manufactures make them available.

• Automatic password–save features — Password savings should be disabled in the browser and software the member uses.

• Exiting the internet banking site — Log out feature of the software and to close the browser if they step away from the computer for any period of time.  The browser may retain information entered in the login screen and elsewhere until they exit.