Protect Yourself Online

We work diligently at INTRUST to help keep your information secure. However, your personal information can also be found outside our four walls, which means it can still fall into the wrong hands. You can reduce your risk for becoming a victim of fraud by following these tips.

Follow safe password best practices.

Your password is the key to accessing your accounts online. Here are some guidelines for making sure your password is working for you:

• Use strong passwords. Passwords that contain personal information or that are too short take much less time for fraudsters to guess. Use longer, more complex passwords that don’t include personal information.
• Don’t reuse passwords. When data breaches occur, and user ids and passwords fall into the hands of hackers, they will attempt to use those credentials on other websites. Use unique passwords for all of the websites you visit, especially for online and mobile banking.
• Safely store passwords. With so many passwords to remember, sometimes it’s difficult to keep up. It can be tempting to save them all in a single file on your computer or worse yet, to write them down on a piece of paper left next to your keyboard. If you have too many passwords to remember, try using a password manager. For guidance on selecting and using a password manager,  review this guide from the SANS Institute .
• Use two-factor authentication. When available, two-factor authentication adds another layer of security, requiring that you know or have two unique elements. For example, in addition to entering a password, you are required to input a code you receive in an SMS text message at the mobile number on file with your account.

Monitor your accounts.

Even people who follow safe password best practices can still become a victim of fraud. Your next best defense is to consistently monitor your account activity. Use  INTRUST Personal Online Banking and Mobile Banking to quickly and easily browse through your activity to make sure there are no transactions you don’t recognize. You can also use online banking to set up email or text alerts for certain account activity, such as transactions over a certain dollar value or transactions made out-of-state. Sometimes catching fraud early can make a world of difference.

Report fraud attempts.

If you feel that you’ve been a victim of fraud,  report it immediately . Your actions can help minimize your risk and potentially help prevent others from falling victim as well.

Be aware of scams.

Knowing how fraudsters operate can be a big step in avoiding becoming a victim of fraud. Do your best to stay up-to-date on the latest scams and data breaches. Here are some examples of popular types of scams:

• Email scams. Be vigilant of emails in your inbox that you weren’t expecting or look suspicious. If you’re unsure about an email, don’t click any of the links contained within or open any of the attachments. These could contain malware that will affect your computer and open it up to fraudsters. If you’re unsure about an email, contact the sender directly and ask them if they sent it.
• Phone scams. Fraudsters will call pretending to be someone else in order to obtain your personal information, or worse yet, your online banking credentials. For example, they may call pretending to be a computer repair shop claiming that your computer needs repaired and they need some information in order to fix it, or they may even claim to be someone working at INTRUST. If you weren’t expecting the call, hang up and contact the institution directly. Never share your online banking credentials.

For more information about how INTRUST keeps your information secure, types of fraud, and best practices for protecting yourself, visit our  Security Center . Additionally, the  Federal Trade Commision (FTC) offers a host of resources regarding online security.