Online Fraud Prevention Center
Charter One wants to help you to protect yourself against online schemes. Email fraud is one of the more common and damaging methods used to scam customers on the Internet today. By educating yourself and following some simple tips you'll be less likely to fall victim to one of these schemes. An easy and convenient way to monitor Online Banking
To help you monitor transactions made through Online Banking, we now offer Session Receipts. With this free feature, you'll be able to --
Generate a receipt each time you logout, so you can review what activity occurred during an online session. View all action completed during a current session by a specified date. If you own a business, you can generate reports for each user session by date. Download and print reports for your records.
To activate the Session Receipt feature, simply visit the "My Profile" page and turn the functionality on.
Understanding the types of Email Fraud.
Of course, the best defense against identity theft is education. By understanding the types of theft schemes and following a few simple steps, you can reduce your chances of becoming a victim.
Please be advised, Charter One will never ask for you to send personal or financial information by, in response to, or via a link in an Email. Common Schemes:
Phishing
Phishing is a fraud technique commonly used to attempt to trick people into revealing their account number and password.
Here is how a phishing scam typically works: The “phisher” sends out e-mails that are designed to look legitimate, as though they were really from a reputable source (like Charter One). These fake e-mails generally either ask for security details or direct customers to a counterfeit banking site. If the use of a counterfeit site is employed, the phisher asks the customer to enter their complete security details - password, security questions, user name... ANYTHING THAT THE LEGITIMATE SITE COULD or WOULD ASK FOR. This information is captured and then used to commit fraud.
If you receive an e-mail requesting your security details do not reply and do not follow the instructions even if the e-mail suggests that you need to take immediate action to stop your account being frozen or it indicates that you may incur a fine if you don't.
These are just tricks that the fraudster may be using to manipulate you into giving away your personal or account information.
If you suspect a phishing attack, call us at 1-800-787-0479 or forward the suspect e-mail to fraud_prevention@cfgcustomers.com.
SMS Phishing
Some people are receiving text messages pretending to be from the bank. Some state that sensitive information about you has been posted onto the Internet and encourage you to visit a web site. These messages are fraudulent, and visiting the link in the text is likely to result in an attempt to infect your computer or handheld device with a malicious virus.
Other messages state there is a problem with your bank account and encourage you to phone a number. These are also fraudulent, attempting to trick you into giving away your personal and security information.
Example text messages:
"Your account is closed due to unusual activity. Call us at [number removed]" .
"Someone has posted your full Personal & Banking information @ http://[website address removed] You must remove it now." .
"Hi, I post your full Personal and Banking information at [website address removed] You can remove it, I am sorry" .
What can I do?
Do NOT phone the number, fraudsters will attempt to trick you into disclosing your personal information.
Do NOT click on the link or type it into your browser, as you may be at risk of being infected with malicious software.
If you have followed the link, it is recommended that you undertake a full check of your computer system or handheld electronic device as soon as possible to determine whether any spyware, computer virus or other malicious software has been installed.
The most effective protection is to keep your computer's security up to date. Click here for Safe Computing Best Practices.
If you suspect you have received a fraudulent text message, please forward the message to fraud_prevention@cfgcustomers.com or call us at 1-877-787-0479. Then, DELETE the suspicious text message.
Spoofing
Many forged Emails ask you to supply, confirm, or update personal information by clicking on a link in the Email. The link will connect you to a Web page or login that appears to belong to the company mentioned in the Email. This is referred to as a "spoofed" site. Often the site looks just like the company's site -- but it's not. The spoof may be a pop up window or an embedded image over the actual site. The goal of the criminals is to get you to enter your personal data so they can steal your information.
Help us help you: Forward suspicious Email to us!
If you suspect you've received a fraudulent Email, DO NOT RESPOND TO THE EMAIL! Instead, contact us as soon as possible: Email us at fraud_prevention@cfgcustomers.com.
Some useful links
Prevention Tips
Federal Reserve Press Release about phishing [pdf file]
Fraud Prevention Brochure [pdf file]
FDIC Fraud Prevention Notice
National Cyber Security Alliance Web site
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