What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft happens when someone steals your identity and impersonates
you in order to open credit or bank accounts, rent apartments, or engage in
criminal acts. The victim may not know the fraud has occurred until they are
unexpectedly turned down for a loan, they get a call from a collection
agency about an account they never opened or, worse yet, get a call from the
police about a crime they didn't commit.
On average, identity theft is discovered 14 months after the thief has
wreaked havoc on the victim's credit standing. Identity thieves use a
variety of ways to gain access to this personal information including:
- Stealing mail
- Looking through your garbage
- Stealing your wallet or purse
- Posing as your employer, bank or utility company needing to "update
their records"
- Collecting information from Internet sites that are not secure
- Completing a "change of address" form at the post office
- Stealing the information that you may have provided (i.e. taking
information from checks you have written or credit cards you have used
for purchases)
Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft:
- Be suspicious and extremely cautious about unsolicited e-mail
requests for financial information or other personal data. When in
doubt about an e-mail, delete it.
- Promptly notify the business that supposedly sent the e-mail and ask
them to verify that the message was indeed sent to consumers.
- If entering personal information into a website, look for the "lock"
icon on your browser's status bar. It means your information is secure
during transmission.
- Carry only the cards that you need to have with you; file others in
a safe place at home
- Sign your credit cards and bank cards immediately
- Do not carry your social security card with you, keep it in a secure
place
- Do not attach a password or social security number to any cards you
carry with you (including your driver's license)
- Do not attach or write a password or social security number on
anything you are going to discard
- Shred any documents that contain credit card numbers, account
numbers or other important information before you discard them
- Review your financial accounts regularly and notify your financial
institution immediately if you notice any erroneous or suspicious
transactions.
- Alert companies with whom you have accounts if you do not receive
statements
- Check receipts to insure you have received your own
- Do not give personal information or account numbers to anyone until
you have confirmed the identity of the person requesting the information
and verified that you need to provide them with the information
- Frequently check your credit reports and social security statements
To
learn more about identity theft and ways to protect yourself:
Important Information about Fraudulent Email…
There have recently been an increasing number of attempts on the Internet
to trick people into revealing sensitive and private information about
themselves to con artists who use that information to defraud them. The
latest scam, popularly called 'phishing', uses replicas of existing web
pages to deceive users. These replicated pages prompt the user to enter
personal, financial or password data. We encourage you to review this
documentation which includes tips to protect your accounts.
They include a link to a website that appears to be a legitimate Mariner's
Bank webpage, asking for personal information such as your ATM/Debit Card
number and PIN. If you have received one of these unsolicited emails and
provided confidential information through the linked website, you could be a
victim of identity theft. If you believe this has happened to you, please
call us at 1-201-224-9110.
As a customer of Mariner's Bank, the security of your personal and account
information is extremely important to us. By practicing good security
habits, you can help us ensure that your private information is protected.
- Never disclose ANY personally identifying information if requested
via an unsolicited email or phone call. This includes:
Mariner's Bank account numbers or credit card numbers
Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) or passwords
Social Security Number
Mother’s maiden name
Or other private information
- Never reveal your PIN to anyone, including Mariner's Bank employees
- Change your PIN frequently
- Store your card number and PIN separately, and never write your PIN
on your card
- If you use Personal or Business Internet Banking, log out when
finished and close your browser before leaving your computer
- Never leave your computer unattended during a Personal or Business
Internet Banking session
Be wary of any emails asking you to log into
Personal or Business Internet Banking if it does not link to the official
Mariner's Bank website at
http://www.marinersbk.com/. Also, be suspicious if you are asked to
enter any personally identifying information into an unexpected pop-up
window even if it looks official.
If you have any questions regarding emails or phone calls soliciting
information about your Mariner's Bank accounts, call 1-201-224-9110.
If you receive an email claiming to be from Mariner's Bank, but which you
suspect is aimed at defrauding you, contact your financial institution and
the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center at
http://www.ic3.gov/
Topics:
Phishing
If you've been victimized
Free Credit Report
Privacy / Security
What is 'Phishing?'
Phishing is a term coined by Internet hackers who use email lures to 'fish'
passwords and financial data from the world of Internet users. Email
messages designed to look like they came from a merchant or financial
institution are mailed to Internet users. The emails direct the recipient to
update or provide information back to the company's web site by instructing
the user to click on a URL embedded within the email. The embedded URL links
the user to a counterfeit web site designed to look like the company's
official website. Passwords and other personal information are then
solicited and collected by the web site and used by the hacker to defraud
the user.
To date, large financial institutions have been primary targets of these
phishing scams. It is reasonable to expect that smaller financial
institutions may also be targeted.
If you receive an email claiming to be from Mariner's Bank, but which you
suspect is aimed at defrauding you, or suspect that you have already been
'hooked' into a phishing scheme and have divulged personal data in response
to an e-mail solicitation, contact your financial institution and the FBI's
Internet Fraud Complaint Center at
http://www.ic3.gov/
If you think you've been a victim of identity
theft, here's what to do now:
a. Contact Mariner's Bank at 1-201-224-9110.
b. Please a fraud alert on your credit report with the three major
credit bureaus. Also request to review your credit reports for
suspicious activity at that time.
Equifax:
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-888-766-0008
www.equifax.com
Experian:
National Consumer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 2002,
Alien, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union:
Consumer Disclosure Center
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-680-7289
http://www.tuc.com/
c. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at
http://www.ftc.gov/
You are now eligible to receive a free
credit report each year from the three major credit bureaus.
Due to the increasing number of identity theft occurrences, it is
important to review your credit report to make sure there are no accounts
linked to your name that you did not authorize. With the new laws put
into effect under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act),
you now have the ability to obtain a credit report, annually, from each of
the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Experian, Equifax,
and Trans Union.
The website,
http://www.annualcreditreport.com/, provides a streamlined process for
obtaining your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. By
visiting this website, you will find instructions for requesting your credit
reports online, by telephone or by mail.
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