At Gogebic Range Bank, the security of customer information is a priority. We are strongly committed to the safety and confidentiality of customer records.
The bank has established an Identity Theft Program that is designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft. It offers a series of policies and procedures to protect the customer's information against theft and fraud, combined with annual employee training and notification of up-to-date identity theft schemes. The Bank's Customer Identification Program contains detailed procedures that Bank employees are required to follow. This program includes specific verification procedures for each branch to guide employees in confirming your identity before establishing a new account or releasing information.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), financial identity theft occurs when an individual uses a consumer's personal information with the intent to commit fraud that results in substantial harm, financial loss, and inconvenience to the victim. This type of fraudulent activity may include opening deposit accounts with counterfeit checks, establishing credit card accounts or other types of credit facilities, or gaining access to the victim's accounts with the intent of depleting the balances.
One of the best ways to avoid fraud is to become an aware and educated customer on the various methods of identity theft and things you can do to mitigate this theft.
Various methods of identity theft include:
- "Phishing" is an online scam whereby emails are sent by criminals who seek to steal your identity, rob your bank account, or take over your computer. It is a social engineering scam whereby intruders seek to access your personal information or passwords by posing as a legitimate business or organization with legitimate reason to request information.
- Watch out for "Pharming" scams where you are rerouted to a copycat website when you type in a legitimate bank website. This methods deliberately uses a web address very similar to the real one. The intent is to lure you into clicking through to their website and you giving your personal information such as a bank account number, credit card number, or online banking login information.
Stealing your mail, wallet or purse. - "Skimming" your debit or credit card numbers which is stealing through a data storage device like an ATM or actual device.
- "Dumpster diving" is when criminals go through your trash looking for information that can be used to steal your identity.
There are several things you can do to prevent or mitigate identity theft:
- Use a paper shredder to destroy financial documents or any document containing personal information.
- Don't carry your social security card with you. Place the card in a safe place and only give it out when absolutely necessary.
- Change your password every 60 days and make them "strong" by using a combination of uppercase, lower case, numbers and symbols. Your password should be unique. Do not use your birthdate, mother's maiden name, last four digits of your social security number, or any other numbers or words that are easy for others to guess.
- Monitor your account(s) activity frequently.
- Tell us at once if you believe your ATM/Debit Card, password or checkbook has been lost or stolen. In addition, tell us if you believe someone may have access to your account(s) without your permission.
- Order a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year. Experian, Transunion, and Equifax all contain information about credit accounts that are open in your name. You are entitled to one free report each year. To obtain a free copy of your report: Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free 877-322-8228
- Only use a secure connection on the internet when sending any personal information. The site should begin with "https".
- Use virus protection and a firewall program on your personal computer and keep them up to date. Don't download files or click on links from unknown sources; instead type in a web address you know. Also, unplug your internet when you're not using it.
Gogebic Range Bank will never send you an email requesting your online banking password or any other personal information. We may however call to verify other information regarding your online activity, should we see something of concern regarding your login patterns.
If you ever receive a suspicious email representing itself as Gogebic Range Bank or an employee of Gogebic Range Bank, please forward the message in its entirety to [email protected].
REMEMBER to immediately report any suspicious activity or if you believe you are a victim of identity theft.