Security
Security policies and tips to protect GCSB customers
GCSB Internet & Mobile Banking provide you with a private and secure environment to conduct banking transactions and communicate with our team. Only you and those you authorize on your enrollment form have access to your accounts or information.
Identify Theft
- Credit monitoring is easy to setup and tracks activity at all three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Credit monitoring will alert you when loans, accounts are opened in your name, or if there are unexpected changes to your credit limits, personal information on file, and more.
- Regularly monitor your financial account statements and credit reports.
- Set up bank alerts to help spot suspicious activity like invalid logins, transactions, or fraudulent charges.
- http://www.banksneveraskthat.com/
Resources
- Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/idtheft
- Office of the Inspector General: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html
- Identity Theft Task Force www.idtheft.gov/
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service: http://www.uspsoig.gov/
Request a copy of your credit report from one of these agencies:
- Equifax: 1.800.685.1111 or www.equifax.com
- Experian: 1.800.311.4769 or www.experian.com
- TransUnion: 1.800.916.8800 or www.transunion.com
Social Engineering
- Never use the same password for different accounts
- Use multi-factor authentication
- Be wary of too-good-to-be-true offers
What makes social engineering especially dangerous is that it relies on human error, rather than vulnerabilities in software and operating systems. Mistakes made by legitimate users are much less predictable, making them harder to identify and thwart than a malware-based intrusion.
Email and Phone Tips – Recognize and Avoid
Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal and financial information. They will try and get you to click links or open attachments. These emails and texts can look like:
- ‘We’ve noticed suspicious activity on your account’
- ‘There’s a problem with your payment information’
- ‘Confirm your personal information’
Do not click on any links that you do not recognize. Do not open attachments from emails or phone numbers you don’t recognize.
Clear giveaways that something is spam:
- The email has a generic greeting, such as ‘Hello Dear,’
- The email says your account is on hold because of a billing problem
- The email invites you to click on a link to update your payment details
Legitimate companies won’t email or text with a link to update your payment information. Phishing emails can often lead to identify theft.
Financial Elder Abuse
Financial elder abuse often occurs at the hands of a caregiver or another trusted person through financial exploitation.
Financial abuse can include fraud and/or or the use of undue influence to gain control over an elder person’s money or property. We will assist clients in rectifying financial abuse in any way we can.
Understanding and taking necessary safety precautions can help protect you or a loved one from falling victim to scams, fraud and other types of financial abuse.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that restricts users from accessing their data, either by locking the whole system or encrypting the files.
To prevent ransomware attacks, back up your data and make sure it’s secure. Keep your technology up to date and look into antivirus or similar software.
Often, a scammer will try to ‘ransom’ the information and get you to pay them via gift cards, bitcoin, or another cryptocurrency.
Pay attention to what you click. Hyperlinks and popups can often bring you to confusing websites or immediately invite malicious software onto your device. Always be wary of where and what you’re clicking.
Report Suspicious Activity
Do you think you’ve been a victim of fraud? If you suspect fraudulent activity on your account, please contact your local branch. manager or representative.
Setting up alerts on your bank accounts is simple and will help you spot suspicious activity like invalid logins, transactions, or fraudulent online charges.
Report a lost or stolen debit card
To protect your information and freeze a lost or stolen debit card, be sure to report the situation as soon as possible. During business hours (M-F 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or Sat 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.), call your local GCSB branch. For after-hours reporting, call Shazam at (800) 383-8000.
Mobile & internet security features
Password Protection
Each time you log into your account, you are required to provide your username and password. For your security, please keep this information confidential. If you forget your password, contact Guthrie County State Bank. Your account will lock down after three incorrect attempts from your device.
Data Encryption
Each time you bank with the internet or mobile banking platform, your communications and log-in process will be encrypted. This allows your information to be scrambled when you send it to us, and we unscramble it upon receipt. This provides a high-level of protection of your data as it travels between us. To ensure your browser supports the required encryption, we recommend that you use a browser that supports 128-bit encryption.
Firewalls
Firewalls are a basic cyber security feature that play an essential role in who is allowed or not allowed to access the information it guards. The use of firewalls allows GCSB to prevent unauthorized or malicious attempts at accessing information.
Mobile-exclusive security measures
Operating System
Smartphones such as iPhones and Androids feature built-in operating systems that are highly controlled and secure. This alone plays an important role in protecting your mobile banking information.
Brella™ Fraud Alerts
Banking with the Brella™ app through GCSB gives you the ability to monitor suspicious activity through text alerts and app notifications on your mobile phone. Brella™ makes preventing fraud easy with capabilities to not only receive alerts, but to turn your debit card on or off as well.
Additional Security Authentication
To add another layer of protection to your information, your mobile banking account will require you to answer additional security questions for authentication when you first use your account.
Protecting Against a Lost Device
In the event that you lose your mobile device, it is important that you ensure nobody can access it or the information on it. Call your mobile service provider and follow the steps to deactivate your phone. Additionally, you can contact GCSB to remove your registered mobile device from your authorized account devices.