Customer Awareness

Each year more and more Americans have their identify stolen and the staff and management of First Bank of Coastal Georgia want to give you the information you need to help protect yourself against ID theft. This includes educating all our customers to be cautious and mindful of cyber crimes and other forms of fraud. While we cannot guarantee that your ID will never be stolen, we want you to be aware of the following:

1. We will never initiate a request for sensitive information such as social security number, account number(s), PIN numbers or login information (ID and/or password), nor will we ever request you to verify your account via e-mail.
2. Help us protect you by keeping your sensitive information such as social security number, account number(s), PIN Number(s), ATM card(s) and checkbook(s) in a secure location and we strongly suggest that you do not share this information with anyone.

What is Identify Theft?
Identity theft is a term used to refer to fraud that involves someone pretending to be someone else in order to steal money or get other benefits. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal identifying information, like your name, address, date of birth, drivers license, Social Security number, bank account number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

How do thieves steal an identity?

1. Dumpster Diving – Thieves look through your trash for any item that has your personal information on it.
2. Lost or Stolen Items – Personal identification is obtained by stealing wallets, credit cards, drivers license, Social Security cards, or mail.
3. Skimming – They capture credit/debit card numbers at an ATM or when you are making an actual purchase by using a special storage device that they attach to the ATM.
4. Phishing – They send deceptive e-mails or pop-up messages to get people to reveal any personal, financial, or log-in information. The e-mail, links within the e-mail, or pop-up usually look like they come from a trusted site but are designed to deceive individuals to obtain personal data such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or social security number.
5. Changing your address – They complete a change of address form and have your billing statements sent to another location.
6. Pretexting – They use false pretenses to obtain your personal information on the phone by posing as a financial institution or another legitimate company. They usually claim there is an issue with your account and need your personal information to fix it.
7. On-lookers – They will steal personal information by looking over your shoulder when you use your ATM card, debit/credit card, or public PC. They also will listen to any personal information when you are talking on the telephone.
8. Pharming – They redirect a website’s traffic to another website or a bogus site.
9. Unsecure Networks – Thieves gain access to networks because they are improperly configured such as wireless networks that do not use encryption and are not password protected.

What steps to take if your identity has been stolen?
If you have been a victim of identity theft, please refer the Federal Trade Commission links below.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft
http://www.onguardonline.gov

** To report a lost or stolen First Bank of Coastal Georgia ATM/debit card – call 1-800-500-1044
** To report a lost or stolen First Bank of Coastal Georgia credit card – call 1-800-423-7503

If you believe you have mistakenly given your personal information to a fraudster, file a complaint at http://www.ftc.gov/complaint.

How to protect your identity?

1. Destroy all data that contains personal information. All documents should be shredded with a cross-cut shredder.
2. Do not order checks with your social security number or drivers license number printed on them.
3. If checks, debit cards, or credit cards are stolen, report it immediately.
4. Immediately empty your mail so thieves will not steal it. If possible, lock your mail box.
5. Never leave receipts behind such as at a gas station.
6. Use security software and/or hardware such as antivirus software, spy ware and a firewall and keep them up to date.
7. Do not give out any personal information unless you know for certain with whom you are dealing.
8. Only put personal information on the internet when the website is encrypted.
9. Review bills and statements upon receiving them.
10. Obtain copies of your credit report from each of the three major reporting agencies to ensure the information is accurate. 
    

    Equifax: http://www.equifax.com
    Experian: http://www,experian.com 
    Trans Union: http://www.transunion.com

11. Change passwords regularly and make them complex (example: at least 8 characters which are made up of three of these four: upper case characters, lower case characters, numbers, and symbols.
12. Do not respond to unsolicited e-mail asking for personal information – so called “phishing” and “pharming” schemes.
13. All hard drives in PCs need to be wiped clean and physically destroyed before disposing of them.
14. Be cautious about opening attachments or downloading any files from e-mails.

Online Security Information
First Bank of Coastal Georgia understands that the security of your personal account information is important to you. We also understand that our continued success as a financial institution relies on both our ability to offer banking services to you in a secure manner as well as your responsibility in keeping any access codes and passwords secure. To assist us in offering these Web-based banking services in a secure manner we employ a number of measures of which you will initiate when you set your on-line account up. These measures will allow us to properly authenticate your identity when you access these services and protect your information as it travels between your PC and First Bank of Coastal Georgia. With the proper safety measures in place, your online banking transactions remain safe and secure.

How you can protect your internet security.
While First Bank of Coastal Georgia works to protect your banking privacy, you will also play an important role in protecting your accounts. There are a number of steps you can take to ensure that your First Bank of Coastal Georgia account information is protected, including:

1. Keep your password to yourself
2. Change your password frequently
3. Remain at your computer until your Online Banking transactions are completed and log out. Lot out of Online Banking prior to visiting other Internet sites.
4. Don’t use obvious numbers or easily accessible information for your log-in ID and Password.
5. Ensure that no one is watching when entering your log-in ID and Password.
6. Don’t record your log-in ID and Password on paper. Try to memorize them if possible.
7. If you do record your log-in ID and Password, keep them in a safe, secure location.
8. Do not share your log-in ID and Password with anyone.
9. Review your account information often. Report any unusual activity immediately.
10. Never give account information to anyone over the telephone unless you initiated the call.
11. If you notice suspicious or unusual activity on your On-line Banking accounts, call the bank immediately.

Please visit us at the bank and pick up any of the complimentary brochures we have on site regarding your financial protection.

Privacy Policy

NOTICE:  The First Bank of Coastal Georgia is not responsible for and has no control over the subject matter, content, information or graphics of the websites that have links here.