Protect yourself from fraud

Here's how you can safeguard your passwords, devices and accounts

How to spot and stop fraud

Learning how to recognize fraud is the first step to protecting yourself. Here are some scenarios to watch out for: 

  • Phone, text or email requests for banking details, including your PAC or PIN, are fraudulent. Don’t respond!
  • Links or attachments in an email or message should always be treated as suspicious and never clicked on
  • Phishing scams will often order you to “unlock” or “verify” your account. Coastal Community will never ask you to do this
  • Reputable businesses or government agencies will never threaten, coerce or ask to be paid by wire transfer, e-transfer or gift card

Protect your passwords

  • Never reveal your Personal Access Code (PAC) or ATM Pin
  • Change your passwords frequently
  • Use strong and unique passwords
  • Update your security questions and select answers that can’t be found on social media or guessed by an attacker
  • Do not write your passwords down
  • Do not store your passwords in a file on your computer. Use a password app on your smartphone instead

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Protect your devices

  • Back up all your important data
  • Update your anti-virus and anti-malware protection regularly
  • Do not disable your firewall
  • Always update to the latest operating system, security patches, software or app upgrade
  • Use a modern browser and do not install unknown software or apps
  • Physically protect your mobile devices (do not leave them in your car or on a table)
  • Set up a short timeout to auto-lock your mobile device

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Protect your accounts

  • Use tap payment technology wherever possible. This reduces attempts at spying on your info or skimming your card
  • Sign out of online banking after each session
  • Monitor your account activity frequently — set up banking alerts
  • Sign up for Coastal Community account activity alerts to monitor for unusual activity
  • Set up AutoDeposit to avoid wondering if that Interac e-Transfer you received is legitimate

Public Wifi & Public Computers

Protect yourself when surfing the internet in a public place.

PUBLIC WIFI

  • Be sure you know whose network you are connecting to
  • Use two-factor authentication to increase the security of your accounts
  • Make sure you have disabled file sharing
  • Switch to cellular data for online banking and e-shopping

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PUBLIC COMPUTERS

  • Only visit reputable sites using  “incognito” tabs
  • Adjust preferences to not cache the pages you view
  • Close all sessions when done. Do not let the browser remember passwords or auto-fill forms
  • Close all sessions when done. Do not let the browser remember passwords or auto-fill forms

FROM THE LEARNING CENTRE

What is phishing and how can I protect myself?

Phishing attempts are meant to deceive consumers into believing that a request (typically for a password reset or personal info) is coming from a legitimate source. In reality it’s a scam and it’s fraud.

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