Consumer Awareness
At Nexity
Bank, we have no higher priority than the security and privacy of your
financial
information while providing exceptional customer service.
Nexity Bank strives to protect your information and understand the amount
of trust we have been given. Nexity Bank also wants to help you protect yourself
against crimes targeted against consumers such as Identity Theft and E-mail “Phishing”.
Nexity Bank's Privacy Statement explains how Nexity Bank ensures protection
of your personal information. The following information is provided to help
you protect yourself from becoming a victim and an explanation of methods
to help you repair your good name if you become a victim of identity theft.
Identity Theft
What is Identity Theft? According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
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. Your information is used to commit
fraud or other crimes. Identity thieves use various low and high-tech methods
to attempt to obtain your information to commit fraud or other illicit purposes.
When businesses, financial institutions, or credit granting companies come
looking for payment, you are left with the hassle of proving your innocence.
Over the last few years, the Internet has proven to be an easier medium that
identity thieves use to conduct scams to trick consumers into divulging their
personal information.
E-mail and Website Fraud (Phishing)
E-mail fraud
scams are sometimes commonly known as “Phishing” or “Spoofing”.
In a phishing or spoofing scheme, a consumer receives an e-mail directing
them to a fraudulent website. In most cases, the criminal has designed the
website to closely resemble that of a legitimate organization and is difficult
to notice as a bogus site. They typically use a business that has wide name
recognition and normally is associated with being a trusted business by consumers.
The “spoofed” website will typically ask for personal and financial
information to be verified or confirmed. The criminals can then use the information
for identity theft. Over recent months, e-mail scams have used the names
of government agencies, legitimate financial institutions, Internet auction
sites, and electronic payment services, and others.
Protecting Your Information
To help prevent your information from being
compromised first, make sure your passwords are all different. Do not use the same password on all of
your accounts… and try to use a few different usernames if you can.
Next, be sure and choose a password
that is not easy to guess. Avoid names (husband, wife, kids, cats, etc.), social security, phone
numbers or addresses. Also avoid common words such as password, logon, state name, etc.
With the
proliferation of information access in today’s climate, it
is difficult to be 100% protected as a consumer. However, there are
several methods if employed that may help you prevent your information
from being
compromised significantly. The following best practices are offered
for your use:
-
Never
give your checking account, credit card or Social Security number to
unknown callers performing unsolicited sales calls. Again, never give
your personal information to an unsolicited contact.
-
Never
give out your ATM, Check Card, or credit card PIN (Personal Identification
Number).
-
Never
write your PIN or Password on your ATM or Debit Cards.
-
Review
all bank and credit card account statements and report any inaccuracies
or unauthorized
charges immediately.
-
Report
lost or stolen checks, ATM cards, or check cards immediately.
-
Never
leave your checkbook in your vehicle.
-
Protect
your ATM, Check Card, and credit card receipts.
-
Make
a photocopy of the contents of your wallet. Include both sides of
your drivers’ license and any credit, ATM, or debit cards; you
carry with you on a regular basis.
-
Mail
bills from US Postal mail drop boxes. Do not mail bills from your home
mailbox.
-
If you
applied for a credit card and do not receive it when expected, call the
financial institution
immediately.
-
Sign
new credit cards immediately before someone else does.
-
Memorize
your Social Security number and all of your passwords for your accounts.
-
Do
not carry your Social Security card or birth certificate on you. Please
leave them in a secure location.
-
Do
not use your date of birth or your Social Security number as
your password and do not record passwords on papers you
carry with you.
-
Never
leave transaction receipts at ATM machines, on counters at financial
institutions,
or at gasoline pumps.
-
Closely
monitor the expiration dates on your credit cards and contact the issuer
if you do not receive a replacement prior to the expiration date.
-
Beware
of mail or telephone solicitations that offer prizes or awards. Especially
if they offer or ask you for personal information or financial account numbers.
-
Match
your credit card receipts against your monthly bills and check your
monthly financial statements for accuracy.
-
Watch
for your monthly financial statements and bills. If you do not get
them when expected, contact the sender of the statements or bills.
-
Do
not reply to or click on a link in an e-mail that warns you, with
little
notice or prior legitimate expectation, that an account of yours will be shut
down unless you confirm billing or other account information. Instead,
contact
the company cited in the e-mail by using a telephone number or
other
form of
communication that you are sure is genuine (either through a billing
statement
or via telephone book listings).
-
Before
submitting financial information through a website, look for the “locked
padlock” on the browser’s status bar typically at the bottom
of the right of the page or look for https:// at the beginning of the
web address in your browser’s address window. Having both of
these does not guarantee that the website is legitimate, but it does
indicate that the
website is secure.
What to do if you believe your Nexity Bank account has been compromised
Nexity Bank does
not contact customers to request or verify security information about login
id’s, passwords, PIN’s or other security measures
in place to protect your account. However, when you contact Nexity Bank,
our employees may ask for specific information to verify your identity to
ensure your privacy and protection. If you feel your Nexity Bank account
may or has been compromised contact our customer call center at 1-877-738-6391
and ask to speak to a member of Nexity Bank’s Fraud Prevention Department.
It is
our goal to keep consumers informed and educated in taking the right
precautions to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and account
fraud.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our customer
call center, Monday thru Friday 8:00am Eastern Time until 10:00pm Eastern Time and from 9:00am
Eastern Time until 6:00pm Eastern Time Saturday. Closed Sunday.
For more information on Identity Theft and other types of account fraud,
please visit the following websites: