PHISHING

Overview - What is Phishing?

Phishing (pronounced "fishing") refers to fraudulent communications designed to deceive consumers into divulging personal, financial, or account information. Phishing emails often appear to come from legitimate financial institutions or retailers. Such requests may ask for information including account numbers, passwords, user names or social security numbers. These fraudulent emails often create a false sense of urgency intended to provoke the recipient to take immediate action; for example, phishing emails frequently instruct recipients to "validate" or "update" account information or face cancellation. In addition, marketing offers may also be used for attempted phishing. Phishers use a variety of techniques, which may include false "From" addresses, authentic-looking logos, or Web links and graphics. These techniques mislead consumers into believing that they are dealing with a legitimate request for sensitive information. Attachments within an email can also facilitate phishing. Do not open attachments in unfamiliar emails, as they may place programs known as "key stroke loggers" on your PC, which capture keystrokes you make (including when you logon to a site and enter your password). The data obtained can then be used to commit fraud.

How to Contact First Place Bank about Fraudulent Emails

If you receive an email that you believe could be fraudulent, immediately forward it to AntiPhishingTeam@fpfc.net. Do not remove the original subject line, or change the email in any way when you forward it to us. If you have already responded to an email with your First Place Bank account information and you believe it to be fraudulent, please contact First Place Bank immediately by calling 1-866-388-9255.

First Place Bank Protects Your Privacy and Personal Information

First Place Bank takes your privacy very seriously. First Place Bank will never request that you send your User ID, password or social security number in an email.

How to Protect Your Personal Information

Fraudsters often create a sense of urgency to provoke you to take action immediately. There is no need to respond instantly to an email request.

First, consider carefully whether the business in question would have sent you the request. Did you sign up to receive marketing emails from the company? Did you sign up to receive emails notifying you of actions relating to your account (such as your monthly statement is available)? Are you able to locate the information by going directly to the company's website? If you are in doubt as to whether or not an email is legitimate, do not respond to it. If you wish to validate whether the communication is valid, a safe alternative is to contact the company directly through familiar channels, such as: Log into the secure message center of the company's website and send an email regarding your inquiry. Contact the phone number provided on your billing statement or credit card. If you make the decision to submit sensitive information on a website, ensure that the site is secure (https). HTTPS means that the URL is secure by the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology protocol.

In all likelihood, phishing will continue to evolve into the use of more sophisticated tactics. For this reason, it is important to always think twice before you provide any personal information.