Safe Online Practices for Consumers

As part of ongoing efforts to ensure customers are able to conduct their online banking transactions in a safe and secure environment, CertusBank reminds all customers to remain aware of this constant threat and take the following precautions to safeguard against these dangers.

Things you should do to protect yourself online:

User ID and Password - Please follow these rules to protect yourself:

  • Never disclose your user ID or password to anyone.
  • Memorize your user ID and password, do not write them down.
  • Change your password frequently.
  • Do not use birth dates, names, or other easily guessed letters or numbers.

CertusBank will NEVER send you an email asking you to click a link to verify or supply personal information, such as:

  • User IDs
  • Passwords
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Federal Tax ID
  • Bank Account Number
  • Mother’s maiden name or other user-defined challenge information (e.g., place of birth, etc.)

Log Out
When you have completed using our online site, log out (look for the "Log Out" link we provide). We suggest you do this before you shut your computer off and before you visit any other websites.

Email
Do not use email to send us sensitive information (such as social security numbers, account numbers, mailing address, etc.).

Public Computers, Internet Access
Do not use public computers or public, unprotected internet connections such as "Free Wifi" to conduct online banking.

Phishing, Spoofs, Hoaxes and Other Deceptive Emails
Be careful when responding to email messages that appear to be from us, a regulator or an auditor. Thieves or hackers send email messages direct you to click on a link which redirects you to a fraudulent website, or pop-up window where you may be asked to "confirm," "verify," "update", or otherwise provide sensitive information (such as your account number, password, PIN, or social security number). Sometimes these email messages will falsely say that your account will be shut down if you do not act quickly. Do not be intimidated by these threats. These links, websites and pop-up windows may look like ours, they are not. Clicking a link in one of these emails can expose your computer to viruses and spyware, even if you do not supply the sensitive information thieves want. We will never send you an email that asks you to verify an account number, password, PIN, or social security number. If you receive such a request, it is probably fraudulent. If you have any doubts about whether an email from us is authentic, do not reply to it, open any attachment or use the link in the email. Instead, contact us through our website or telephone number obtained through your own records.

Spam
Do not open attachments in email messages if you do not know the sender. Attachments can contain viruses and spyware. Delete unwanted email.

Links to Other Websites
If you click a link to another website, that website may collect, use, and disclose information about you in ways that are different from what we do. You should review that website's policies. We are not responsible for what the operators of other websites do with your information. We will give you a pop-up notice to let you know you are going to an unaffiliated third party's website.

Security for Your Own Computer
Protect your own computer by doing these things:

  • Keep your operating system and browser up to date.
  • Install a personal firewall.
  • Install anti-virus software and keep it up to date.
  • Scan your computer for spyware on a regular basis.
  • Do not download programs or files from unknown sources.
  • Install a pop-up blocker from a trustworthy source.
  • Disconnect from the Internet when you are not online.

How CertusBank is Protecting You
CertusBank uses advanced technology to protect the confidentiality of your financial activities while you are online. That’s why we require identification (access IDs, online passwords and multi-factor authentication) to access any account information using our online technology. Account information is only displayed in the secure part of the site, where all of our security technologies work together to block unauthorized users from accessing your account information. Keep your operating system and browser up to date.

Our system ensures that data exchanged between your PC and CertusBank Online Banking Services are encrypted with 128-bit encryption–the strongest encryption available-through Secure Sockets Layers Secure Socket Layers (SSL) utilizes mathematical formulas to encrypt or hide information from prying eyes on the internet. . Additionally, if SSL detects that data was added or deleted after you sent it to the bank, the connection will be disengaged in order to safeguard against any tampering. The most popular browsers have the SSL security feature included. Check with your browser software provider to be sure that your browser supports SSL.