Staying Cyber-Safe

At Home State Bank, we are committed to the security and safeguarding of your financial assets. While we have the state-of-the-art systems in place to prevent cybersecurity on our end, cybercrime doesn’t happen in one place.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. To keep your financial assets safe from hackers and scammers, follow these tips:

1. Always Enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA). This adds a second layer of defense that criminals have to work/guess through. A single factor may be just a password, but a multifactor authentication could include a password along with a text message, physical identifier or other personal information. If it’s available, always choose multi-factor authentication.
2. Use Strong, Unique Passwords. When selecting passwords, the more unique, the better. Avoid using the same passwords for multiple accounts and change them regularly.
3. Use Your Own Devices. When using accounts for financial or personal reasons, always use your own devices instead of a public computer. Public computers may have software that can capture personal information. If you do have an emergency and need to use a public computer, remember to delete your “cache” and clear your search history.
4. Avoid Unencrypted Wi-Fi. Using public hotspots such as those at restaurants, airports, coffee shops, and more can make it easier for cybercriminals to intercept your information. Be wary of public hotspots that don’t ask you to agree to their terms of service.
5. Be Wary of Links. If sent a link or attachment that seem suspicious, do not click. Scammers will tend to try to create urgency and ask you to click to fix something or even win something. The best is to avoid. If someone, especially your financial institution, needs to get a hold of you, they will. You can always call or email your financial institution and ask if they’ve recently emailed anything to you.

Home State Bank is dedicated to keeping your finances safe. If you would like to learn more tips on how to safeguard your assets, contact one of our Universal Bankers today!

Home State Bank is a Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender