Protect Your Identity

It’s easy to remember to lock our doors and cars, but what about locking access to our personal information?  Identity protection is often put to the side until it actually happens to you.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime of the 21st century. December is National Identity Theft prevention and awareness month. The holiday season is a busy time of year for scammers.  Consumers are preoccupied with events, shopping and more which creates an opportunity for fraudsters. They may attain access to accounts, credit cards and social security information.  

During the month of December, data breaches are extremely prevalent. Cybercriminals are able to access and collect personal identifiable information for their own financial gain. Identity thieves will pose as bank representatives, internet service providers, and government officials to get you to reveal your information.

Millions of people fall victim every year, but you can protection your private information with Provident’s Identity Theft Protection service. This service provides 24/7 monitoring of you and your family's accounts and personal information. The most comprehensive and affordable tools to protect you against fraud.

In addition, here are three tips to help keep your information safe:

1. Strengthen your passwords. Use strong passwords with uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbol combinations. In addition, use different passwords for all your online accounts.
2. Enroll in Stand Bank Onlinealerts. Our alerts gives you real time access to purchases, balances, and more to help mitigate potential fraud.
3. Monitor your emails and phone calls. Opt-out of telemarketing phone calls and mail, be leery of clicking any email links and be sure of who you are corresponding with before providing any personal information

By taking these steps, you can give yourself and your family better security against potential scams and fraud.