Detecting Scams

Fraud is committed when criminals use your personal information to access your financial information and make purchases

Who Can It Affect?

Anyone. Although it's considered a felony crime, police can't help you restore your credit record and undo the damage that's been done. Taking the proper precautions with your information is the best protection.

Tips to Prevent Identity Theft

• Never give out your checking account, credit card or Social Security number to solicitors or callers that you have not contacted
• Never give out your password or PIN for your debit card, credit card or ATM card
• Check your accounts frequently using free Banner Online Banking and contact us if you notice any suspicious activity
• Receive and pay bills online instead of by mail with Banner Bill Pay. The less biller information in your mailbox, the better
• Protect your information by not receiving paper copies of your account statements. With free Banner eStatements, just login to Banner Online Banking and view or print the statement information you need
• Provide personal information only on websites that are secure and only when you have initiated the contact. Always check for the lock icon in the bottom right of your screen, and check the browser to make sure that "https" ("s" indicates secure) is displayed in the website address

How to tell if an email is legitimate

Banner Bank occasionally sends marketing emails. These emails contain clickable links for your convenience and the displayed text may be different than the actual link (i.e., the target). Although fraudulent emails can be difficult to recognize, beware of emails that:

• Request that you click a link to a spoof website, one that looks like a real company website, including the real company's graphics and design. Since fraudulent email may even use exact wording from the real company's website, it's difficult to determine a spoof website.
• Ask you to give, confirm, or update sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers, usernames, passwords, PIN (Personal Identification Number) or account numbers.
• Use Pop-Up windows for entering or confirming personal data (see below for more pop-up screens on secured websites.)
• Have a sense of urgency to give the information immediately, citing a specific thing that might happen. For example, your account may be closed or temporarily suspended.
• Have spelling errors and/or bad grammar. Intentional spelling errors may allow the email to get through spam filters used by ISPs (Internet Service Providers).

Even if you don't enter your personal data, by clicking on a link embedded in a fraudulent email, you may inadvertently download tracking software or viruses that track your keystrokes to gain your personal information.

Some people "test" for online fraud by entering incorrect information. If the information is accepted, then they feel they can determine that it's an email fraud. Criminals are now aware that people perform this test, and may not accept the information entered first. The best defense is not to enter any personal information at a website you link to from an unsolicited email

If you have any doubts, please contact Banner Bank at 800-272-9933 or send an email to bannerbank@bannerbank.com. Unlike Online Banking, our general Banner Bank email address does not use SSL encryption. Please do not send sensitive information, i.e. your social security numbers, account numbers, other account information via email. You may safely send secure information through our messaging service within Banner Online Banking.