SAFEGUARDING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

What you should know about fraudulent emails. “Phishing” or “Spoofing” is when unsolicited emails appear to be coming from a bank, insurance company, retailers or a regulatory agency, but they really are not. The fraudulent emails require that the recipient “verify” certain information to prevent account suspension, cancellation, interest withholding or some other urgent matter. These messages look professional and authentic, and may even contain links or pop-up windows that have the appearance of legitimacy. These sophisticated scams will ask for ATM or Card Numbers, PINs or log-on IDs and personal information such as Social Security Number, Date of Birth, or Mother’s Maiden Name; which can be used by the criminals to perform an account takeover or commit identity theft. Other tips to avoid becoming a victim: Delete emails from unknown parties. Don’t even open them. Do not provide personal information, account numbers, banking or credit card numbers, PINs or log-on IDs through email links or pop-up windows. Invest in spam filtering protection. NEVER give out any information unless you initiated the contact and you know for sure with whom you are dealing. Please note that SBI (California) does not collect/solicit personal information through email, telephone or internet. If you receive such request please call us at 213–623-4939 for confirmation To know how to protect yourself from phishing scams and ensure against ID theft, click on the links below: For Phishing scam http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.shtm   For ID theft http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/     Back to Top