Fraud Protection & Prevention

What is Spoofing?

Spoofing is the use of a website or email that appears to come from a well-known company. For example, a spoofed online banking website could redirect you to an illegitimate page that looks just like your real bank's website. These spoofed websites are then used to obtain password or PIN, credit card information, ATM or Debit information, Social Security Number, or your bank account information. Here are some precautions to take to help you avoid spoofed websites:

• Check for typos or misspelled words in the URL.
• Be cautious of sites that ask for sensitive information like Social Security Numbers.
• Before entering payment information, verify that sites are secure and use encryption by looking for a lock symbol in the browser window and checking that the address starts with “https://” rather than just “http://”.

What You Can Do to Prevent Fraud

If you suspect an email or pop-up message might not be authentic, don't respond or click on an embedded link. Call the company or log onto the website directly by typing in the web address in your browser. If the email in question looks like it came from Liberty Bank, call our Customer Service Center at (888) 570-0773 to confirm the message's legitimacy, or you can type liberty-bank.com into your browser and go to our website that way.

• Regularly log on to your online accounts and review your transaction history to ensure all transactions are legitimate. Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches are applied. Regularly update your virus detection software and spyware scanning tools.
• If you suspect that you have been directed to a false Liberty Bank website, or if you are receiving fraudulent emails or phone calls claiming to be from Liberty Bank, report it or call us at (888) 570-0773.

How to Protect Yourself

THE DOS:

• Report any lost/stolen ATM/Debit Card, lost/stolen personal checks or lost/stolen driver's license.
• Sign up for online and mobile banking to keep a close eye on your accounts.
• Balance your checking or savings account statement every month and report any unauthorized transactions to the bank immediately.
• Regularly review credit card statements to check for unauthorized charges.
• Shred your charge receipts, credit card applications, insurance forms, old checks, bank statements, and anything that contains any of your personal identification.
• Use Liberty's Digital Banking tools, including Card Controls and Alerts, to protect your accounts.
• Enable Voice Print when calling Liberty Bank's Customer Service Center.

THE DON'TS:

• Never use an unsecured network or a shared computer.
• Never share your Personal Identification Number (PIN) or password.
• Never give out personal information such as your checking or savings account number, credit card number or Social Security Number, through the mail, telephone or Internet, unless you have initiated the contact.

Liberty Bank employees will never ask you for your Online Banking password, CVV code, ATM/debit card pin, or the last eight digits of your debit card. In addition, Liberty Bank will never request that you send an unsecured email containing your personal or financial information.

Fraud Prevention Checklist

Fraudulent scams are one of today’s fastest growing crimes. Here are some helpful tips to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft:

• Avoid clicking suspicious links and/or responding to emails and texts urging you to act quickly.
• Never give out account numbers, social security numbers, credit card numbers, PINs, CVVs, passwords, or passphrases.
• Never trust caller ID: Always validate a person’s organization by hanging up and calling them back through the official phone number.
• Never release information to the caller or the sender of an email.
• Verify the requestor and the requestor’s right and need to know the information.
• Never rely on the phone number or email address or link they provide; instead look up the contact number listed on your statements, or look up the company’s website on the internet to obtain their contact information and then contact them directly.
• Send money to trusted sources only: only send money to friends, family or others you know and trust. Do not buy goods or services from people you are unfamiliar with or have never met.
• Keep your passwords safe and up to date. Create a strong, unique password for each online account you have.
• Always keep your passwords up to date, changing them every so often, and follow the recommended password format (generally a password that includes at least one upper case letter, lower case letter, numbers and symbols).
• Do not share passwords.
• Browse safely; make sure your internet browser is on the latest version and its configuration adheres to security best practices.
• Protect your devices by ensuring the latest antivirus and/or spyware software is installed and updated on your device(s), and apply operating system and application updates (patches) regularly.
• Never use an unsecured network or a shared computer to access your personal or account information.
• Turn off your computer when not in use.

Common Red Flags to Look Out For

• Asking you to purchase gift cards and provide the codes as a form of payment.
• Legitimate businesses/people will not request that you send Bitcoin or Cash App funds for payments for reimbursement/fees.
• Asking you to cash or deposit a check on behalf of someone else.
• Instructing you to deposit a check received in the mail.
• Instructing you to cash or deposit a check received in the mail and ask that a portion of the funds be withdrawn and sent to pay taxes & fees.
• Offering you more than the price you are asking and requesting you send the overpayment somewhere you are not familiar with.

Extra Layers of Security to Consider When Banking with Liberty

• Download Liberty Bank’s mobile app and enroll in Alerts.
• For an extra layer of security when calling Liberty Bank, you can enroll in Voice Print.
• Regularly review your account activity and credit card statements and report suspicious activity to us promptly.

REMEMBER:

• Liberty Bank will NOT request your personal information through email or provide links within an email to update information.
• Liberty Bank will NOT instruct you to cash or deposit a check received in the mail and request a portion of the funds be sent to pay taxes & fees.
• Liberty Bank employees will NOT ask you for your Online Banking password and we won’t request that you send an unsecured email containing your personal or financial information.

Liberty Bank Customer Service Center

(888) 570-0773

Weekdays - 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (EST)

Saturdays - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (EST)

Debit cards: You can report a lost or stolen Liberty Bank debit card by calling (888) 570-0773 and selecting option #3 when prompted.

Credit cards: You can report a lost or stolen Liberty Bank credit card by calling (888) 570-0773 and selecting option #4 when prompted.

In addition to contacting Liberty Bank, you can also follow these steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission at www.IdentityTheft.gov.

Step 1: Call the companies where you know fraud occurred.

Call the fraud department and explain that someone stole your identity. Ask them to close or freeze the accounts. Change logins, passwords and PINS for your accounts.

Step 2: Place a fraud alert and get your credit report.

To place a fraud alert, contact one of the three credit bureaus. That company must tell the other two.

Equifax.com/creditreportassistance
(888) 766-0008

Experian.com/fraudalert
(888) 397-3742

transunion.com/fraud-alerts
(800) 680-7289

Get your free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com or call (877) 322-3228 and review your reports for accuracy.

Step 3: Report identity theft to the FTC.

Complete the FTC’s online complaint form at ftc.gov/complaint. Give as many details as you can.

Step 4: File a report with your local police department.

Keep a log of all conversations when contacting law enforcement and financial institutions, including dates, times, names and phone numbers. Confirm conversations in writing. Send correspondence by certified mail (return receipt requested). Keep copies of all documents.

The FTC offers guidance and free publications on protecting yourself from fraud. Learn more at consumer.ftc.gov.

Protecting Your Business

Protecting Your Business is Smart for Business

If you own a business, it's more important than ever that you remain vigilant against common threats, like:

• Unauthorized access to your bank accounts by outsiders or even employees.
• Compromised IDs and passwords.
• Corporate account takeovers.
• Email compromise.

Corporate Account Takeover

Cyber thieves have learned that stealing from a business is much more lucrative than defrauding consumers one at a time. They entice an employee to click a link in an unsolicited email, or to visit an infected website. That’s all it takes to plant malware on your computer system, learn your online banking credentials, and gather other sensitive info across your network. These thieves particularly target small- to medium-sized businesses that use ACH or wire services and may not reconcile accounts every day. From there, it’s a simple matter for them to drain your accounts to a local account, which in turn immediately wires the funds out of reach. Don’t take any risks. Make sure any wire requests are personally validated.

Here are some ways to protect your business against corporate account takeover:

• Reconcile all banking transactions on a daily basis
• Initiate ACH and wire transfer payments under dual control, with a transaction originator and a separate transaction authorizer
• Be suspicious of emails purporting to be from a financial institution, government department or other agency—or even your own boss—requesting account information, account verification or banking access credentials such as usernames, passwords, PIN codes and similar information as well as email requests to send a wire or ACH transaction
• Be wary of emails purporting to be from a colleague or your boss requesting a wire transfer. Be sure to call that person to verify the wire request before moving funds. Always call a number known to you, not a number in an email
• Create strong passwords with at least 10 characters that include a combination of mixed case letters, numbers and special characters
• Clear your browser cache in order to eliminate copies of web pages that have been stored on your hard drive

Do you suspect your account has been taken over? Here’s what to do:

• Immediately cease all activity on computer systems that may be compromised, and disconnect from your network.
• Contact Liberty Bank at (888) 570-0773 so we can disable your accounts, review recent transactions and authorizations, or open new account(s) as appropriate.
• File a police report.

Other Ways You Can Protect Your Business

Consider taking the following steps to give your business more protection:

• Install a web filter to block employees from accessing non-business websites.
  
• Conduct all your banking business on a stand-alone computer that is not enabled for email or web browsing and turn this computer off when not in use.
• Review your bank statements regularly.
• Limit the number of employees who have access to your banking information and accounts.
• Segregate account reconciliation responsibilities and assign them to specific employees.
• Ensure that operating systems and anti-virus programs are up to date.
• Install firewall software.
• Set alerts, directed toward an owner or senior manager.
• Consider enrolling in Liberty Bank's Positive Pay service to protect your business from forged and counterfeit checks.