Fraudsters and scammers come at us from every angle - email, social media, phone calls, etc. - and at times it can be very hard to determine what's legitimate and what's not. This article offers some tried and true methods to keep your accounts and other personal information out of the hands of fraudsters.

"We've detected fraud on your account..." 
This is a common trick that fraudsters use, especially with the elderly. They'll call claiming to be with the fraud department of financial institution or credit card company you use. The caller will state that he or she needs to go over some recent transactions on your account to determine if they are fraudulent. Sometimes they will spoof the phone number of the company so it shows up as the actual company's phone number on your caller ID. But if they start asking for certain types of information, chances are the call is isn't legit. You should be suspicious if the caller starts asking for:

PLEASE NOTE: Any financial institution or credit card company with which you do business will NOT need to ask you these things - that data is already on file in their systems.

If you are unsure if the call is authentic, hang up immediately and call the company using a phone number found on a statement, bill, web site, etc. and let them know you received a suspicious call. If you did happen to give the fraudsters any sensitive information, be sure to let them know that too. While it may be embarrassing to admit, it's better to own up so their fraud experts can start to immediately protect your account and information rather than suffer the long term damage identity theft or account take over can cause. Fraudsters can be very convincing and even the most savvy consumers can get tripped up by them.

Protect your passwords
We live in an age that is driven by passwords. And while we are making strides towards using other methods, like bio-metrics and facial recognition, to authenticate a user's identity, passwords still rule the day. The following tips can help create a strong and secure password:

 

 

Don’t fall for phishing attacks

You should be very careful while opening a link, even from a legitimate website that asks you to log in, change your password, or provide your personal information. It can either be legitimate or a phishing scam. With a phishing scam, whatever information you enter goes directly to the hacker so be sure to verify the website is legitimate before entering any sensitive information.

 

Make sure your devices are secure

Even if you create the best password in the world, it won’t do you any good if there is someone looking over your shoulder as you type in the password. Different kinds of software like keyboard loggers that make a record of your keystrokes have aided hackers in password theft. You should make sure that your operating system is updated, and that your device is running up-to-date anti-malware and anti-virus software.

 

Use a Password or Fingerprint on Your Phones

Most phones can be locked, and the only way to access it is by entering a code, or maybe a pattern. Some phones have integrated a new technology of registering your fingerprint, and require it to unlock the phone.

First South Financial takes protecting your personal and account information very seriously and work every day to ensure that your information stays secure. For more tips and information, please visit the online security section of our web site. If you ever think you've been hacked or scammed, please do not hesitate to contact us at 901-380-7400 or stop by any one of our banking centers.