SECURITY AWARENESS ALERT

How to protect yourself from identity theft

Shop with merchants you know and trust.
Check account statements promptly and report suspicious transactions.
Shred receipts containing credit card information before discarding them.
Report lost or stolen cards immediately.
Be aware of your surroundings when entering your PIN.
Sign the back of your bank and credit cards.
Don't leave receipts at the ATM, on shop counters or at the gas pump.

Current Identity Theft Scams

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.

The subject line of the e-mails state: "you need to check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage." The e-mail tells recipients that, "You have received this message because you are a holder of a FDIC-insured bank account. Recently FDIC has officially named the bank you have opened your account with as a failed bank, thus, taking control of its assets." The e-mail then directs recipients to click on a link stating "You need to visit the official FDIC website and perform the following steps to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage."

This e-mail and associated Web site are fraudulent. Recipients should consider the intent of this e-mail as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users' computers and should not click on the link provided.

The FDIC does not issue unsolicited e-mails to consumers. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT follow the link in the fraudulent e-mail.