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FLORA NEWS
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WEEKLY
12/15/2009
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leBA and Bank of Yazoo offel
tips for safer online shopping
Annette Costello of Flo ra does some las l minute on li ne Christmas shopping.
!) .
" Was hin g ton, D .C. (N ov. 24 ,
2009) - More than half of consumers are
expected to do their holiday shopping over
the Internet (his year. The Independent
Community Bankers of Ameri ca (re BA)
and Bank of Yazoo today issued tips to
help consumers stay safe and secure when
ordering online .
"A few simple precau tions can
make a big di fference," said R. Michael
Menzies, rCBA chairman. " Community
banks are co mmitte d to making sure
that our customers have the info rmation
they need to shop safel y and securely
anyw he re , a nytim e . It's e ve n mor,.!;.
important at thi s time of year to remind
peo ple of the steps th ey can ta ke to
protect th eir personal infom1ation when
shopping online and lessen the likelihood
offraud ."
I. Make sure your computer and browser
are secure. Set your fi rewall, anti-virus and
anti-spyware softwru'e to automatically
update and scan your Pc.
2.Don ' t c re ate passwords that include
easil y accessed personal inform atio n,
such as mother's maid en name or date of
birth . Instead , use someth ing un ique that
only you know.
3.Don' t give personal in fo rmation over
th e phone, throu gh the mail or on the
Internet unless you know who you're
dea lin g with and prefe rably o nl y if
you' ve initiated the conta ct. Never give
out Social Security or driver 'S licen se
numbers. If you mu st share personal
in fo rmation, confirm that you are dealing
with a legitimate organization.
4.lf you receive an e-m ail asking for
person al information, do not hit the reply
button or cli ck on any link in th e e-maiL
In stead, go directly to the sender 's Web
site by typ ing in its Web-site address.
5. Look for secure sites with an " s" in the
URL (https://) and a closed-padlock icon
on the Web page.
6. Always double-check the URL to be
sure you are shopping with the company
you intend ed to shop with. A simple typo
can help identity thieves.
7.If you ' re using a company's site for
th e first time, consider checking it ou t
with the Better Business Bureau (WWw.
bbb.org).
8.Never respond to an offer by way of a ·
spam or bulk e-mail. If something sounds
too good to be true, it usually is.
9.Coo§umerlJ..!'otections in the.f ederal Fair
Credi t Billing Act appl y to online credi t­
card purchases. Keep records of all your
purchases in case there 's a pro bl em.
I O.Avoid pro v iding unne ce s s a ry
informa tio n su c h as annu al income,
spe nding habi ts , hobbies and lifes tyle
data.
II .Shop with U.S .-based comp a ni es.
Domestic st8te and federal con sume r­
protection laws apply. You ' ]] be protected
and have recourse should something go
awry.
12 .Register your credit and debi t cards
at www.veri fiedb yvis a .com o r www.
mastercardsecurec ode .com for a mo re
secure onlin e shoppin g exper ien ce.
Some credit-card companies offer vilt ual
account num bers that are generated each
tim e you make a purchase, and some
e-mail pro vid ers let you create several
aliases to protect your person al e-m ail
address.
" The Int e rnet o f fe r s i nc r e dibl e
co nv eni e nce , a nd m ost bu s ines s es
online are legi timate, " Griffin Norquist,
President, Bank of Yazoo said. " We just
urge our customers to us e th eir good
CO lTIlnOn sense."