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Internet Awareness
The Internet can give you
access to information, entertainment, finance and email along with many
other services – but at the same time,
it can leave you vulnerable to online viruses, spyware, scammers, and
more. The website www.onguardonline.gov provides practical tips
from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be
on you guard against Internet fraud.. It can help you to secure your computer and protect
your financial information.
Identity Theft and Phishing (Pronounced "fishing")
Don't let yourself be a victim of identity theft. Be suspicious
of any emails, phone calls, or mail requests that ask for Social Security
Numbers, credit card numbers, account numbers, passwords, or any other
confidential information, even if these requests come from someone who
says they represent a company you do business with. Many identity thieves
fraudulently claim to represent your bank, credit card company, or investment
firm in order to gain your trust and your confidential information. Find
out more about ID Theft and Phishing and how to protect yourself at the
following web sites:
Other Consumer Scams and Fraud
Winning lotteries or sweepstakes, "charities" or "organizations" asking for contributions,
receiving a cashiers check for more than you requested when selling an item,
or foreigners asking for help because of the restrictive rules and regulations
of their countries—what
do all these things have in common? They are all examples of scams. Find
out more at these web sites:
Suggestions for Choosing Strong User IDs and Passwords
Everyone
should be aware of how to select strong user IDs and passwords. When
selecting a User ID (if the system allows) or a password, refer to the
password requirements for the system you have chosen to use plus apply
as many of the following guidelines as you can.
Strong passwords:
- Contain both upper and lower case characters (e.g., a-z, A-Z)
- Have digits and punctuation characters as well as letters e.g.,
0-9, !@#$%^&*()_+|~-=\`{}[]:";'<>?,./)
- Are at least eight alphanumeric characters in length.
- Are not words in any language, slang, dialect, jargon, etc.
- Are not based on personal information, names of family, etc.
- Should never be written down or stored on-line. Try to create passwords
that can be easily remembered. One way to do this is create a password
based on a song title, affirmation, or other phrase. For example,
the phrase might be: "This May Be One Way To Remember" and the
password could be: "TmB1w2R!" or "Tmb1W>r~" or
some other variation.
NOTE: Do not use any of these examples as passwords!
Poor, weak passwords:
- Contain less than eight characters
- Are words found in a dictionary (English or foreign)
- Are commonly used words such as:
- Names of family, pets, friends, co-workers, fantasy characters,
etc.
- Computer terms and names, commands, sites, companies, hardware,
software.
- Birthdays and other personal information such as addresses and
phone numbers.
- Word or number patterns like aaabbb, qwerty, zyxwvuts, 123321,
etc.
- Any of the above spelled backwards.
- Any of the above preceded or followed by a digit (e.g., secret1,
1secret)
Once you have your User ID and password, make sure you do not disclose
them or otherwise make them available to anyone else. For security
purposes, it is recommended that you memorize the User ID and password
and do not write them down. Immediately notify your service
provider of any loss or theft of your User ID or password. It is
recommended that you change your User ID and password regularly.
The First National Bank of Volga provides links
as a service to our web site visitors. We are not responsible for the
content, views, or privacy policies of these sites. We take no responsibility
for any products or services offered by these sites. Web sites change
location, ownership and address frequently. The First National Bank
of Volga is not responsible for the accessibility of these links.
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