Phishing

How to protect yourself from PHISHING

The term “phishing” refers to a scam that encompasses fraudulently obtaining and using an individual’s personal or financial information. This is how it works:

• A consumer receives an e-mail which appears to originate from a financial institution, government agency or other well-known/reputable entity. 
• The message describes an urgent reason you must “verify” or “re-submit” personal or confidential information by clicking on a link embedded in the message.
• The provided link appears to be the Web site of the financial institution, government agency or other well-known/reputable entity, but in “phishing” scams, the Web site belongs to the fraudster/scammer.
• Once inside the fraudulent Web site, the consumer may be asked to provide Social Security Numbers, account numbers, passwords or other information used to identify the consumer, such as the maiden name of the consumer’s mother or the consumer’s place of birth.
• When the consumer provides the information, those perpetrating the fraud can begin to access consumer accounts or assume the person’s identity.

Tips on how to avoid Phishing:

• If you receive an unexpected e-mail saying your account will be shut down unless you confirm your billing information, do not reply or click any links in the e-mail.
• Before submitting financial information through a Web site, look for the “lock” icon on the browser’s status bar. It means your information is secure during transmission.
• If you are uncertain about the information, contact the company through an address or telephone number you know to be genuine.
• If you unknowingly supplied personal or financial information, contact your bank and credit card company immediately.
• A suspicious e-mail can be forwarded to Click to Send to uce@ftc.gov

Reporting Identity Theft

How to protect yourself from IDENTITY THEFT

Identity theft is a serious matter to OSB Community Bank. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft that has compromised your OSB Community account(s), please take the following actions:

• Report the incident to OSB Community Bank.
• Notify your local law enforcement agency and ask to file an Identity Theft Report.
• Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Hotline at 877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338). The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
• Call the fraud departments of all three major credit reporting agencies and ask them to put a "fraud alert" on your file. This tells creditors to call you before they open any more accounts in your name.
  • Equifax: To report fraud, call 800-525-6285. To order a report call 800-685-1111.
  • Experian: To order a report or to report fraud, call 888-397-3742.
  • TransUnion: To report fraud, call 800-680-7289. To order your report, call 800-916-8800.

Our regulators are encouraging institutions to provide a notice on its site reminding customers that the Bank will never request confidential information through e-mail and to report any such requests immediately to the Bank.