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What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft involves the unlawful acquisition and use of someone's identifying information, such as:

• Name
• Address
• Date of Birth
• Social Security Number
• Mother's Maiden Name
• Drivers License

Bank or Credit Card Account Number

Thieves then use the information to repeatedly commit fraud in an attempt to duplicate your identity which may include opening new accounts, purchasing automobiles, applying for loans, credit cards, and social security benefits, renting apartments and establishing services with utility and telephone companies. It can have a negative effect on your credit and create a serious financial hassle for you.

How do I protect myself?

• Report lost or stolen checks or credit cards immediately,
• Never give out any personal information including birth date, SSN or Passwords,
• Shred all documents containing personal information, like bank statements, unused checks, deposit slips, credit card statements,
• pay stubs, medical billings, and invoices,

Don't give any of your personal information to any web sites that do not use encryption or other secure methods to protect it

The attached two informative Identity Theft brochures, " Theft, What's it All About" & "Theft, When Bad Things Happen to Good People".

are provided to assist you on how to avoid becoming a victim of Identity Theft and what to do if you become a victim.


If you have any questions, please contact or visit one of our First California Bank Branches.

If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft, you should complete the following four steps immediately.

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your credit reports.
The contact numbers for the credit reporting agencies are:

• Equifax 800-525-6285: www.equifax.com;
  P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  
  
• Experian 888-397-3742; www.experian.com:
  P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013
  
  
• TransUnion 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com:
  Fraud Victim Assistance Division;
  P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
  

2. Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You can file an online complaint at Identity Theft Complaint Form or FTC's Identity Theft Hotline at 877-438-4338.
4. File a police report and get a copy of the report.

Please visit the Federal Trade Commission's website at www.consumer.gov or contact the FTC directly for additional information
For Additional Information click on the links below.
FTC_IDTHEFT.pdf
idtheftmini.pdf

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Summary:
E-mails fraudulently claiming to be from the FDIC are attempting to trick recipients into installing unknown software on personal computers. These e-mails falsely indicate that recipients should download and open a "personal FDIC insurance file" to check their deposit insurance coverage. The "insurance file" may actually be a form of spyware or malicious code and may collect personal or confidential information.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has become aware of e-mails appearing to be sent from the FDIC that are asking recipients to download and open a "personal FDIC insurance file" to check their deposit insurance coverage. These e-mails are fraudulent and were not sent by the FDIC. The FDIC is attempting to identify the source of the e-mails and disrupt the transmission.

Currently, the subject line of the fraudulent e-mails includes the wording "check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage." The e-mails state: "You have received this message because you are a holder of a FDIC-insured bank account. Recently FDIC has officially named the bank you have opened your account with as a failed bank, thus, taking control of its assets."

The e-mails ask recipients to "visit the official FDIC website" by clicking on a hyperlink provided, which appears to be related to the FDIC and directs recipients to a fraudulent Web site. The Web site includes hyperlinks that appear to open forms. However, it is believed that clicking on the hyperlinks will cause an unknown executable file to be downloaded. While the FDIC is working with the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to determine the exact effects of the executable file, recipients should consider the intent of the software as a malicious attempt to collect personal or confidential information, some of which may be used to gain unauthorized access to online banking services or to conduct identity theft. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT access the Web site or download the executable files provided on the Web site.

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-3054, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2009/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

 

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Fedwire Phishing Scheme

Fraudulent e-mails claiming to be from the Federal Reserve Bank that warn of a phishing attack on the Fedwire system are reportedly in circulation.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is warning consumers, businesses and financial institutions to be aware of fraudulent e-mails allegedly from the Federal Reserve Bank. The fraudulent e-mails claim that a phishing attack has affected the Fedwire system and that restrictions are in place. The e-mails further instruct recipients to click on links within the e-mail for additional information.

The fraudulent e-mails have included various spoofed names and addresses in the "From:" line of the messages, including "Bank System Administration," "System Administration" and "Federal Reserve Bank." The e-mails contain the following message verbatim:

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
Important:
You're getting this letter in connection with new directives issued by U.S. Treasury Department. The directives concern U.S. Federal Wire online payments.

On On January 1, 2009 a large-scaled phishing attack started and has been still lasting. A great number of banks and credit unions is affected by this attack and quantity of illegal wire transfers has reached an extremely high level.

U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in common worked out a complex of immediate actions for the highest possible reduction of fraudulent operations. We regret to inform you that definite restrictions will be applied to all Federal Wire transfers from January 6 till January 16.

Here you can get more detailed information regarding the affected banks and U.S. Treasury Department restrictions:

The message contains links to two Web pages that attempt to load malicious Trojan horse programs onto end users' computers.

Consumers, businesses and financial institutions should be aware that Fedwire operations are not restricted and are operating as normal, and should take the following precautions:

• If an end user received the e-mail and clicked on any of the links, fully scan the computer using updated anti-virus software. If malicious code is detected on the computer, consult with a computer security or anti-virus specialist to remove the malicious code or re-install a clean image of the computer system.
  
  
• Be aware that phishing e-mails frequently have links to Web pages that host malicious code and software. Do not follow Web links in unsolicited e-mails from apparent federal banking agencies. Instead, bookmark or type the agency's Web address.
  
  
• Always use anti-virus software and ensure that the virus signatures are automatically updated. Ensure that the computer operating systems and common software applications security patches are installed.
  
  
• Do not open unsolicited or unexpected e-mail attachments because of the risk of malicious code or software in the attachments. Instead, call the agency using a known and appropriate telephone number to verify the legitimacy of the message and attached file.
  
  
• Be alert to different variations of the fraudulent e-mails.

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov.

Questions related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2009/index.html.

To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

 

Security of our customer's information is one of First California Bank's primary concerns. When you use First California Bank's E-Access Online Banking service, the communications between your computer and our services is encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. This secures the connection to prevent anyone else besides yourself and First California Bank from accessing your information.

You can also protect yourself by learning how to spot fraudulent offers and requests directed to you and by taking a few easy steps, such as the following:

Monitor Your Accounts
Periodically monitoring the activity on your accounts is one of the best ways to quickly detect and stop fraudulent activity involving your accounts.

Protect Your User ID and Password
Your User ID and Password are the two pieces of information that allow access to your accounts. Guard this information just as if you were guarding the money you have in your wallet. You would not just leave your wallet sitting around unguarded, likewise be cognizant that your personal User ID and Password is not accessible for anyone other than those vested on your account.

Pick a Good Password
A good password is not necessarily a hard one to remember. Don't use something easy to guess; birthday, anniversary, kid's name, social security number, phone number. It is best to use a combination of letters and numbers, and maybe other symbols such as @, $, !. Another best practice is to use an acronym for something you can remember: RDAGMD2 = Rainy Days Always Get Me Down 2

Secure Your Computer
Internet based threats are plentiful and aggressive today. You don't need to go looking for them because they are actively looking for you and your computer to infect. Installing AND keeping up-to-date security programs on your computer are one of the best ways to protect yourself while on the internet or using email.

Various programs include:

• Virus scanning software used to detect and prevent viruses from infecting your computer;
• A Firewall to block access to/from your computer except for only on required ports;
• Anti-Spyware / Anti-Adware software used to keep programs from sending your personal information off to someone else;

Pop-up blocker used to keep annoying and possible dangerous ads from bothering you.

Installing these programs is a prudent call, but keeping them up-to-date is more important. As new threats are developed, security programs need to be updated so that they will be able to detect those new threats. Security programs come in all price ranges, from commercially available packages to freeware or inexpensive programs.

Computer operating system updates are also very important to keep up-to-date. These are quite easy and inexpensive to retrieve and will help you secure your computer even more.

Avoid downloading programs from unknown sources. They may contain other hidden programs that could compromise the security of your computer and your private information. Email attachments can also contain disguised or hidden programs that might compromise your computer.

Scams
Beware of Email scams as they are on a constant rise. Some are very creative and sometimes very believable, however, they are still a scam to try and separate you from your money. Some common scams include:

• You receive a letter indicating you are a recipient of a share of millions of dollars someone is trying to get out of the country before the government takes it. What ends up happening is that YOUR money leaves you and ends up in their country and their pocket.
  
  
• Your rich relative (Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Brother, Sister, or whomever) that you have never met, but may really be your relative, has died and is leaving you some of their fortune. All you need to do is pay for the legal fees and/or medical expenses and then you can receive your check for your large inheritance. What ends up happening is you will pay the fees and expenses, which may keep getting bigger and bigger, but the promised inheritance check never arrives. The money you paid out is gone and, if you did receive a check of some sort, the check fraudulent.
  
  
• You have an item for sale and the buyer sends you a check for an amount greater than the asking price. They instruct you to deposit the check and return the extra amount to them when you ship them the item. What ends up happening is the check you receive isn't any good, causing you to have to pay back the bank for the full amount of the original check you received. Plus, you no longer have your item you were selling.
  

Phishing and Spoofed Web Sites -
(see "Report Suspicious Email and Web Sites" section below)

Similar to going to the lake and throwing out your line with bait on it to try and catch a fish, computer "phishing" (also pronounced fishing) is when a perpetrator throws out a line of false information attempting to bait you to bite its hook and take you to a fake (spoofed) web site that looks like the real thing. If you take the bait, you might be at risk of losing your money, damaging your credit history, and suffer a great deal of inconvenience.

Learn to identify false emails and web sites

Although they look very real, these fake sites and e-mails are used to collect whatever information they can from you to gain access to your personal/financial information. Things you can look for include:

• Is the language used in the email or on the web site sloppy, containing misspelled words or improper grammar? Is the email threatening to cut off your account access if you do not click the provided link to access your accounts right away?
  
  
• Is the email or web site requesting personal information such as social security number, account number, credit card number, the credit card security code from the back of the card, your User ID and Password, your date of birth, mother's maiden name?
  
  
• Do you even have accounts with the bank named in the email? In an attempt to try and reach someone that will take the bait, thieves will send the fraudulent email to as many email addresses as they can in hopes of reaching someone at the named bank.
  
  
• Fake website links that appears on-screen may appear to be the correct one, but the web site it routes you to can be slightly or completely different. Always check to see what web site address it is actually routing you to. This can be accomplished in most web browsers or email programs by moving your mouse cursor over the link, without clicking it, and viewing the address or status bar. A fake link may even contain our company name and logo.
  

The most secure action that you can take is NOT to click a provided link, but rather to type in the bank's web site address by hand. As one of our customers, anything that you would need to do online will be available from the home page of our web site.



Report Suspicious Email and Web Sites

If you receive an email or you are directed to a web site that seems suspicious, forward the entire email  including header information and any attachments or the entire web site address to spam@fcbank.com

You may also want to forward it to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov, or contact them at www.consumer.gov/idtheft* or 877.IDTHEFT (877.438.4338).

If you feel that your User ID and Password have been compromised or that you have experienced fraudulent activity on your account; please contact First California Bank immediately at either your branch office or our Client Services Center at 800-856-7905.

To learn more about phishing, read the article provided by The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This information is available at their website:

http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/alerts/phishing.html

The FDIC is the primary federal regulator of banks that are chartered by the states that do not join the Federal Reserve System. In addition, the FDIC is the back-up supervisor for the remaining insured banks and thrift institutions.