Identity Theft – A Serious Concern

Valley Business Bank will never ask you to provide personal information or account information via our Web site, by telephone call, or by e-mail. If you ever receive a suspicious request for confidential information that purports to be from Valley Business Bank, do not respond and report the request to any of our Customer Service Personnel at any of our locations.

The process of stealing personal information through e-mail is known as “phishing.” The identity thieves that send fraudulent e-mails in an attempt to obtain personal information from unsuspecting consumers are known as “phishers.” These criminals are intent on stealing your money and can wreak havoc with your good name in the process.

Phishers typically send e-mails that purport to be from a bank or other legitimate company. These e-mails can be very convincing and often contain the company’s logo and even a link to a phony Web site that appears to be the company’s actual Web site. The fraudulent e-mail typically claims that account information urgently needs updating or some transaction needs to be made. Any information provided in response to the fraudulent e-mail will then be used for criminal purposes.

Be extremely suspicious of e-mails you receive that request information that could be used by identity thieves. And never provide your identification information, Social Security Number, Personal Identification Number (PIN), or checking or savings account numbers in response to any such request.

For more information on Identity Theft, please click on the following links:

Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft

Don't Be an Online Victim: How to Guard Against Internet Thieves and Electronic Scams (video presentation)