Identity theft and fraud can be devastating, and these crimes have become more widespread over the past few years. If a criminal gains access to your personal or financial information, your accounts and good name can be ruined, along with your peace of mind.
Preventing identity theft and fraud starts with education and First Bank Texas is always here to support our customers' financial education needs. Consider these online and banking security topics to help protect yourself and your loved ones.
What is identity fraud?
Fraud occurs when thieves create fake accounts and steal money using a real person’s name and information obtained without consent. Fraudsters are getting smarter, causing a higher percentage of victims to pay out of pocket and never see that money again. In 2023, there were over 2.6 million reports of fraud according to the Federal Trade Commission, costing victims more than $10 billion.
What is identity theft?
Identity theft occurs when an unauthorized person attempts to use your bank account or personal information to open a new account, apply for a loan in your name or engage in another fraudulent act. Texas alone had over 101,000 reports of identity theft in 2023. There are several types of identity theft to be on the lookout for:
1. Account takeover fraud
Account takeover fraud has surged in recent years, particularly on mobile devices. This type of identity theft occurs when criminals use a victim’s personal information, often from a data breach, to change the victim’s account information or add themselves as a new user to the account.
With access to a victim’s bank account, they can take over credit card accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts or brokerage accounts. Criminals conceal their activities by updating the email addresses and contact information associated with the accounts so that no red flags are raised. Identity thieves mainly use the following information to commit account takeover fraud:
- Bank account login information (username, password, PIN)
- Social Security number
- Email address
2. New account fraud
New account fraud occurs within three months of an account having been opened. Criminals open a new account in someone else’s name to commit fraud, such as depositing and withdrawing stolen or counterfeit checks. Often, the victim’s information is obtained from a data breach. Most people find out they’ve been a victim of this type of fraud when they review their credit reports and notice discrepancies, or if they receive calls from debt collectors.
3. Card-not-present fraud
Most credit card fraud is now happening online. This is known as card-not-present fraud and often occurs as a result of hacking, phishing or skimming when card information is given remotely. Criminals committing card-not-present fraud can access and use your card information without ever having the card in hand.
This is a growing threat, as the transition to embedded chip cards has made it more difficult to commit credit card fraud in person. Card-not-present fraud has become the most common type of fraud, and according to the 2022 Federal Trade Commission study, the number of attempted fraudulent credit card transactions reported in 2023 came to 416,582. With that, there were 381,122 reports consisting of criminals opening new accounts.
How to protect yourself from identity theft & fraud
Protecting your identity is essential to keeping your personal information safe. Be vigilant in safeguarding valuable information like your Social Security number, PIN, bank account logins and passwords. Also, be careful with paper documents - shred them or opt for paperless statements; signing up is easy with First Bank Texas. Never share your sensitive information with anyone, and keep important documents locked up in a safe. Here are a few other tips to prevent identity theft:
- If a bank calls you asking for payment information, do not provide it. Banks don’t initiate calls regarding payments, calls from banks are generally customer service geared calls you didn’t ask for. Instead, hang up and call your bank to verify. If the call wasn’t from your bank, the bank can place a fraud alert on your account.
- Review your credit report at least every year to identify new accounts you didn’t open and any suspicious transactions. You are legally entitled to one free credit report from each credit bureau every 12 months from annualcreditreport.com.
- If you lose your credit or debit card, report it immediately. Also, check your accounts frequently for suspicious charges, and report them ASAP. A good way to keep tabs on your account is to set up account alerts through online and mobile banking.
- Don’t choose the same password for multiple accounts. Select a hard-to-guess password with a combination of symbols, upper and lowercase letters and numbers. Using unique passwords helps promote online security and makes it more difficult for hackers to target you.
- Only buy online from secure websites that encrypt their data using Secure Socket Layers (SSL). Look for “https” at the beginning of the URL, to indicate the site is secure. Once you’ve made a purchase online, be sure to end your session by logging out of the website.
Is First Bank Texas a secure site?
Securing your personal information is of the utmost importance to us at First Bank Texas. When visiting our website, https://www.go2fbt.com, you’ll see “https” in the web address.
First Bank Texas uses SSL to encrypt and protect sensitive information, including credit card numbers, online banking login information, and other secure data. Conversely, if you come across a website that only shows “http” in the URL, this means that the website lacks the encryption and verification that comes with https.
If you suspect you’ve been the victim of fraud, please contact your local North Texas branch by phone or mail to report it. You can learn more here about keeping your information safe with First Bank Texas so you can manage your finances worry-free.
