Internet Security

Your safety on the Internet is important to us. Capon Valley Bank will never contact you via email to ask for personal information such as log-in IDs, passwords or PIN numbers. How to protect yourself online changes as the threats change. For up-to-date information on the latest scams and how to protect yourself, please visit OnGuardOnline.gov.

In addition, recently some card issuers and financial institutions across the industry have experienced an increase in attempts by unknown fraudsters to break debit card verification value/card verification code (CVV/CVC) on compromised cards, and thereby to commit card fraud, including ATM fraud. This attempt to commit fraud is commonly known as a “brute force attack”. To execute these crimes, email is often used to transport phishing scams and malicious software (malware) to obtain personal information, including personal identification numbers (PINs) and to take over legitimate merchant accounts to test the compromised cards. You can help to reduce the likelihood of success of these attempts to commit fraud by being alert for email that (1) contains unfamiliar or suspicious links or attachments, (2) is unsolicited and/or from an unknown sender, (3) is sent multiple times from different senders or (4) contains poor grammar or incorrectly spelled words. If you receive email that contains any of these elements or any combination of these elements, you should delete it immediately. Do not open it, click on the links or any attachments. Also, you should not attempt to reply to the email or forward it to anyone.

Should you ever have questions about a suspicious email or phone call, always contact someone you trust to review the source before you provide any information.

Staying Safe Online

Doing your banking and shopping online is convenient, but if you’re not careful, hackers could steal your identity and ruin your credit. Forewarned is forearmed when it comes to dodging cyber scams.

To keep hackers guessing, change account passwords frequently while avoiding obvious words like your name or birthday. A tool like Dashlane or LastPass can help you track of all your passwords in one place.

Financial institutions like Capon Valley Bank can help with information regarding identity theft. Here are some tips to enhance your online safety:

Never use public Wi-Fi networks, like in a coffee shop or airport, for online banking.
Log out of accounts as soon as you’re finished.
Don’t click on links in suspicious emails. If you’re unsure whether a message is legitimate, contact the business through its main number or official website.
For better fraud protection, shop online with credit cards rather than debit cards.
Monitor statements and credit scores regularly to watch for fraud.

Stay alert to common online ploys:

Phishing: The bait is an email or pop-up message that appears to come from a reputable sender. Phishing messages often refer to a supposed problem and seem urgent. The victim is asked to verify passwords or other personal data by clicking on links that lead to to imposter websites.

Smishing: Similar to phishing, smishing messages arrive via text, directing victims to phony data-gathering websites.

Spyware: Clicking on shady websites can cause destructive software to invade your device to record keystrokes, allowing hackers to access your data. Stay on reputable sites of businesses you know.

Be sure to report any suspicious activity to your bank immediately to avoid being held responsible, and deter future crimes by notifying the Federal Trade Commission as well.

Jeanne Lee and Roberta Pescow, NerdWallet