Security Bulletin

Errors on credit reports are not uncommon, so staying up to date, reviewing your credit report is a must. We have a credit score solution, called My Credit Score, that is not only FREE for you, our customers, but offers a variety of benefits to you including a download of your credit report.  You can review your credit report anytime, anywhere without affecting your credit score.

Online surveys are too often scams designed to steal personal or financial information, warns Phil Muncaster at ESET. Muncaster explains that these surveys are usually distributed via phishing or by ads on websites, impersonating trusted brands and offering phony rewards.

“The scam often begins with an unsolicited email or text/message likely spammed out to countless other victims. This is basically a phishing message designed to lure the recipient into participating by clicking through."

Have you ever applied for credit and shortly after seen an increase in telemarketing calls from other financial institutions? This is common and is a direct result of credit bureaus selling consumer information, called “trigger leads”, to companies interested in knowing who is in the market for a loan.

It has become such a big problem that federal legislation has been passed requiring the credit reporting industry set up an official site where people can Opt-Out:  https://www.optoutprescreen.com/

Citizens National Bank hosted a Cybersecurity Seminar earlier this year, which featured a panel discussion led by local cybersecurity experts. See what they had to say about developing a disaster recovery plan and how you can be prepared in the event of a security breach...

The pandemic caused a need for many companies to move to digital identification. As a result, there has been an increase in deepfakes. Learn more about what deepfakes are and some of the precautions you can take to avoid falling victim to one of these scams...

One of the newest tactics being using by cybercriminals is a Facebook-themed phishing attack. Find out how to spot it here...

CNB’s mobile banking app lets you securely check your credit score in just a few taps...

If you’ve been to a restaurant or tried to pay for parking in the past year, odds are you’ve been told to scan a QR code to see the menu or feed the meter... 

Portions from cnet.com

If you’ve been to a restaurant or tried to pay for parking in the past year, odds are you’ve been told to scan a QR code to see the menu or feed the meter...

Businesses continue to be targeted by email scams in order to try to get them to send money to fraudulent accounts.

As a parent it can be overwhelming trying to monitor your children’s use of the internet and social media.

Romance scams commonly occur when a scammer creates a fake profile on a dating site or app, strikes up a relationship with a target, and asks for money.

The American Bankers Association and the IRS have highlighted the top five most common scams to watch out for in relation to stimulus payments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led consumers to increasingly turn to digital payments, enabling fraudsters to hide among the larger volume. Fraudsters are also taking advantage of the pandemic, using fear and uncertainty to victimize consumers.

If you're looking for an easy way to monitor your accounts and track spending, we recommend setting up Account Alerts with Online or Mobile Banking.

We're often warned not to click on things or open emails from companies or people we don't know. But what happens when you are familiar with the email sender and they request information? Unfortunately in this day and age company databases are hacked all the time and that information may be used to pose as someone you're familiar with in order to profit from you.

It's an unfortunate reality that fraudsters remain relentless in times of crisis. It's imperative to be on alert for possible warning signs that you or your business are being targeted. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network recently released an advisory regarding pandemic-related imposter scams.

Concerns about the coronavirus may have you questioning your daily routine. If you normally go to a bank branch for your transactions, you might want to consider our online and mobile options which will allow you to continue business as usual without having to visit a teller.

Now that the World Health Organization has officially declared the COVID-19 a pandemic, many companies are considering how they'll keep their business running in an environment where people are urged to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus.

As is the case every time there's a hot topic in the news, scammers follow those trends and develop new ways of taking advantage of that situation to install malware or steal credentials for profit. The coronavirus is no different.

The convenience of making purchases at your fingertips and next-day delivery has caused online shopping to continue to grow. Of course the increased availability of online shopping is convenient, however it also makes it lucrative for scammers to trick buyers into paying for goods they won't receive or obtaining their personal information for financial gain. Being a safe and secure shopper involves taking some security precautions.

Citizens National Bank has programs in place to review your debit card transactions so you feel secure about using your debit card.

At the end of the year, nearly every company is thinking about holiday bonuses, corporate gifts, and holiday greeting cards for customers. So it's not unusual to think that the head of an organization might want to give out some gift cards to select employees at this time of year.

While we're all concerned about protecting our own information, when you're a business owner it's also vital that you protect your customers' information as well. Your reputation relies on safeguarding the details they provide to you in order to retain their trust and feel comfortable continuing to do business with you. Here's a few things to consider to keep that info safe and your customers feeling secure.

According to a whitepaper developed by Troy Security Solutions a full 95% of business leaders state that checks are still their number one choice for making payments, yet most businesses do not have the proper solutions in place for check fraud prevention.

With the ever-increasing risk of identity-theft thanks to breaches from some of our favorite brands (Equifax, Target, Home Depot) to name a few, it's more important than ever to find ways to ensure you're the only one logging into your online accounts.

Recently some of our retail business customers have had issues with customers paying with fake cash. While at first glance it can look pretty authentic, there are things you can train your employees to look for to ensure you don't end up losing out on those payments.

W-2 phishing season is here. For the past several tax seasons, cyber criminals have used sophisticated social engineering tactics to dupe hundreds of payroll and HR departments into providing W-2 data on their employees, which results in the filing of fraudulent tax returns and other identity theft cases.

Your mobile device provides convenient access to your email, bank and social media accounts. Unfortunately, it can potentially provide the same convenient access for criminals. The American Bankers Association recommends following these tips to keep your information — and your money — safe.

In early September, Equifax, one of the largest credit reporting bureaus, announced as many as 143 million Americans may have been affected by a data breach they experienced. Data risk includes Social Security Numbers, birth dates and addresses. Some drivers license numbers were also compromised as well as roughly 209,000 credit card numbers. Due to the widespread media coverage of this breach, you may be wondering how this may affect you and what you can do to protect your identity.

DocuSign, a reputable firm known for being the industry-leader in online documentation distribution and signing, was recently a victim of a phishing attack.

Check fraud continues to rise as more are attempting it due to the increased difficulty of credit card fraud with the introduction of the chip technology. CNB's business customers have the option of using a software program called Positive Pay, which reviews daily all the checks a business writes to match the amount of the check, payee information, and check number. 

We recently had a customer who was a victim of a debt consolidation scam. She was contacted by phone from a company (BPT Funding, Inc.) claiming to specialize in debt consolidation and offering to help lower her monthly payments by paying smaller balances off with a cash advance from Discover. A three-way conference call was held between the customer, the fraudulent company and Discover where she was approved for the amount needed to pay off the balances. Discover transferred the funds to her checking account. She made a personal check out for that amount to the fraudulent company who offered to take care of paying all her balances off for her. Unfortunately, her bills kept coming and nothing had been paid off.

Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. This is not a new scheme, but it continues to be an effective one.

If your business writes checks, you can benefit from Positive Pay. This automated system reviews every check presented for payment against the file submitted by the business and flags any that do not match by amount, payee, check number, etc... You the business owner make the call whether or not to pay the flagged check. If you're interested in learning more about preventing check fraud and the potential loss of dollars for your business, contact Treasury Management.

Check Fraud Can Happen To You! Counterfeit checks are a genuine threat as one of our business customers recently realized. They received a phone call from another bank asking them to verify checks that were being cashed. Fortunately, the other bank was aware enough to recognize there was something suspicious about the check. 

There's currently a massive phishing scam that looks like it comes from TurboTax. The email tries to make you click on a link to "opt out" of sharing your personal information with others.

Wire fraud is a virtual crime that costs businesses millions of dollars every year - and it's on the rise. According to a report by J.P. Morgan, 60 percent of businesses faced payment fraud in 2013 and roughly 95 percent of those endured financial losses that year. There is a growing trend toward cyber criminals targeting smaller businesses with respect to payment fraud. Some of our own customers this year have experienced wire fraud, resulting in lost dollars and a lot of frustration.