What is Phishing?

"Phishing" is a term that is used to describe one of the fastest growing frauds. It typically involves a bogus e-mail message that uses legitimate materials, such as a company's graphics or logos, to entice recipients of the e-mail to provide personal financial information, such as credit card and social security numbers.

Hillsboro Bank will NEVER ask for your personal financial or user log-in information via e-mail. If you receive such a request - IGNORE IT, and contact your branch.
What are some simple precautions?

Customers can use the following tips to help protect themselves against phishing and other forms of identity theft:

• Be suspicious if someone contacts you unexpectedly and asks for your personal information. Most legitimate companies and agencies do not operate that way.
• Do not click on hyper-links in e-mails that ask you to provide personal information. To check whether an e-mail or call is really from the company or agency, call the company directly or go to its Web site (use a search engine to find it).
• Only access Hillsboro Bank's web site by typing in the URL (URL is the Universal Resource Locator or more simply it is the www. address), or by following a shortcut or bookmark that you yourself created.
• Do not provide personal information (such as your Social Security number via phone, e-mail or otherwise unless you initiated the contact with a trusted partner).
• If someone contacts you via phone or e-mail and says you've been a victim of fraud, verify the person's identity, and contact the organization directly before you provide any personal information.
• If you manage any of your financial accounts online, choose passwords that are difficult for others to guess and use a different password for each of your online accounts. Change the password frequently.
• Make sure the Web sites on which you transact business post privacy and security statements. Be sure to review them carefully.
• Do not send sensitive personal or financial information unless it is encrypted on a secure Web site. Regular e-mails are not encrypted. Look for the padlock symbol on the bottom bar of the browser to ensure that the site is running in secure mode before you enter sensitive information.
• Check your monthly statements to verify all transactions.
• Check your credit report periodically and examine it thoroughly. This will reveal accounts that have been opened without your knowledge.
• Add a statement to your credit file that prohibits the granting of credit without calling you to confirm the application.
• Record the names, account numbers and customer service numbers of all the cards you carry. This way you will have all the necessary information you need if you have to cancel your cards immediately.
• Make it difficult for thieves to get "identifying information" from your mail and mailbox. Take envelopes containing checks and other sensitive information directly to the post office instead of leaving them in your mailbox.
• Shred or secure in a lockbox all documents with important identifying information on them, such as bank statements, credit cards, pre-approved credit card offers and pay stubs.
• Carry only the credit card you would use in an emergency. Do not carry your social security card.
• Update your personal computer with security patches and install anti-virus software.