| Dear Valued Customer, As the holiday season approaches, it is important to be protective of your personal and financial information. According to the US Department of Justice, as many as 17.5 million people are victims of identity theft annually in the United States. Sterling Bank and Trust is dedicated to helping our clients protect themselves from being a victim of identity theft. We encourage you to review the information below regarding additional precautions you can take to protect your identity during this holiday season. |  |
Secure public Wi-Fi: Public Wi-Fi can be an identity trap for an unsuspecting individual. A fraudster can set up a network to make it appear like public Wi-Fi to trick people to log on and enter in personal information. Avoid using public Wi-Fi to make purchases or entering private or financial information. If that's not an option, secure your connection using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPN's encrypt your internet traffic preventing hackers from gathering personal information.
Authenticate website: When shopping online check the web address in your browser to make sure it starts with "https://".
Be aware of phishing scams: Phishing is a cybercrime that utilizes fraudulent e-mails appearing to be from an authentic source to induce individuals to disclose personal and or financial information. If you have received a suspicious email look at the recipient, ask yourself if the timing of the email or the domain (@gmail.com) of the sender seem logical. If you receive a suspicious email delete it.
Check your credit report and billing statements: You are eligible for one free credit report annually from each of the three credit bureaus. Reviewing your credit will help you detect if your identity has been used to make unauthorized purchases, open new bank accounts, or incur debt. Additionally, checking your monthly bills will allow you to determine if there are any unauthorized purchases when comparing monthly statements to receipts.
Set up alerts with financial institutions: Contact your financial institutions about setting up alerts that send out text messages, e-mails, or freeze the account if certain activity occurs. They can alert for unusual activity such as purchases outside of your normal location, unusually high amounts, multiple transactions in a short span of time, and unfamiliar spending patterns. These alerts can be very helpful in identifying unauthorized purchases that would lead to a further financial loss.
Secure your mail: Remove your mail promptly from your mailbox. Always shred pre-approved credit offers or other documents with personal or financial information on it.
If you believe your information may have been compromised, but have not seen any suspicious activity contact one of the three credit bureaus and request a Fraud Alert on your credit report, this alert forces businesses to verify your identity before opening accounts.
Sterling Bank and Trust wishes you a happy and safe Holiday Season!
Thank You,
Branch Operations
Why no links in this email? To protect your financial security, you should never click a link in an email from (or claiming to be from) your financial services provider. Instead, type our website address into your browser:
www.sterlingbank.com
| Sterling Bank & Trust 400 Montgomery Street, Suite 100 San Francisco, CA 94104 |
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