FFIEC Customer Education

Recent supervisory guidance from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) is designed to help make online transactions more secure. This means you may begin to see new security features on websites you visit. You will also see more information on how to take action to keep your funds, financial information, and identity secure. Our online products have built-in security features that are continually updated as new threats arise.

Information for Businesses

Businesses are at greater risk than individual consumers because their transactions are of higher frequency and dollar amounts. The FFIEC recommends additional measures for businesses to protect themselves, including performing risk assessments to evaluate vulnerabilities, evaluating internal controls put in place to help minimize online risks, and implementing layered security.

Consumer Protection – Regulation E

Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfers), issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, protects the basic rights and liabilities of individual consumers when they use electronic fund and remittance transfers. These include ATMs, direct deposits, gift cards, overdraft, point-of-sale transfers, remittances, and phone transfers. Under Regulation E, consumers are allowed to recover losses depending on the timeliness an unauthorized transaction or error is reported. We recommend regularly monitoring your account activity and statements to catch unauthorized transactions early.

The following are a few steps to help you protect yourself from fraud and scams:

1. Never open an attachment or click on a link in an email you are not expecting, is from someone you do not know or even looks slightly suspicious. If you are unsure about an email, delete it – do not forward it or reply.
2. Never provide any personal or company information in any form to an unsolicited caller.
3. If someone does call asking for information, tell the caller you are uncomfortable providing this information over the phone and you will call our Customer Service line to resolve the issue. Then quickly end the call and contact our Customer Service center at 800-810-2301 to report the incident.
4. As with phone calls, never respond to any unsolicited request for information that comes through your e-mail or text messages; no matter how valid it may appear.
5. Never provide confidential information through e-mail or unsecured Web sites.
6. Shred all paperwork containing confidential information.
7. Review your credit report at least once a year for fraudulent activity.

How can I help keep my information safe?

1. Use a PIN/password on your devices and take advantage of applications and devices that use multi-factor authentication, one time passcodes, FaceID, and fingerprint biometrics.
2. Only download applications and updates/patches to your devices from a reputable source.
3. Install firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware software on your devices as applicable and keep them current.
4. Never access Online or Mobile Banking services using public wi-fi networks or otherwise insecure internet connections.
5. Always be wary of an offer “too good to be true” and other phishing emails or texts used to trick a recipient into revealing personal information, clicking on a malicious link, or opening a malicious attachment.
6. Always log out of a website instead of closing out of the page or hitting the “x”.

How can I make sure my account or password is secure?

A strong password includes a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, special characters, and/or numbers. We recommend changing your passwords regularly and using a unique combination for each website you have an account with. Do not share or provide passwords or User ID’s to another person. Never leave your information in an unsecure place.

Web Resources

Learn more about how you can protect yourself online:

Consumer alerts and online security tips (FTC website):
https://consumer.ftc.gov/

Recent scams and how to report them (IC3 website):
https://www.ic3.gov

Scam and fraud and how to avoid being a victim (FBI website):
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety

Please contact West Bank Customer Service at 800-810-2301 if you have any questions.