At Hyde Park Savings Bank, we want you to be safe while transacting business online. By educating yourself and following some simple guidelines, you can protect yourself from online schemes. As a first step, we suggest you familiarize yourself with some of the most common scams to avoid.

Phishing Pronounced "fishing," as in fishing for confidential information, this is a scam that involves the use of seemingly legitimate email messages and web sites to deceive consumers into disclosing sensitive information, such as bank account information, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, passwords and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs). Criminals will use this data to attempt to access your accounts.

Pharming Refers to the redirection of an individual to an illegitimate web site through a technical means. For example, an Internet banking customer, who routinely logs into his/her online banking web site, may be redirected to an illegitimate web site instead of accessing his or her bank's web site.

Spyware A form of software that collects personal and confidential information about a person or organization without their prior knowledge or informed consent, and reports it to a third party. Spyware is usually installed in their computer without a user's knowledge or permission.

Follow These Guidelines to Protect Yourself
Don't open email from senders you don't know
Never access a web site from a link in an email, especially a web site that asks for personal information
Don’t include personal or sensitive data in, or in response to, an email
Keep your anti-virus software up to date
Install anti-spyware software to protect your home computer
Refrain from accessing online banking from a public computer (i.e. library, internet cafe)
Pay close attention to the safeguards that Hyde Park Savings Bank has implemented within Online Banking; look for your authentication image at every login to Online Banking
Monitor your account activity closely and watch for unusual activity
Change your password regularly and choose passwords that are hard for others to guess
Never write down your password
Never tell anyone your password
Check the accuracy of your credit report every year and report any inaccuracies to the credit bureau immediately.

If You Believe You Have Been a Victim of Identity Theft
Immediately contact your bank to close your existing accounts. Open new accounts with new account numbers, ATM cards and PIN numbers.
Cancel credit cards and request that new accounts be established
Report any suspected theft of your information to your local police and request copies of all police reports
Contact the credit reporting agencies by telephone and in writing to request a fraud investigation
KEEP ALL OF YOUR COPIES

Credit Reporting Agencies
Experian, P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013 | 888.397.3742
Equifax, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348 | 800.525.6285
Transunion, P.O. Box 679, Fullerton, CA 92634 | 800.680.7289

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For more information about any of our products or services, please visit any of our branch offices, complete our information request form, or call 617.361.6900.