According to an August 2011 American Bankers Association survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, bank customers now prefer online banking over all other methods of banking including telephone, ATM, mail, mobile, and branch banking.

The internet has changed the way we communicate and the way we transact business. Added convenience and efficiency have also meant more sophisticated attempts at obtaining personal information by cyber-criminals from online sources, by phone, and even via text messaging. As a consumer or business owner, it is more important than ever that you utilize practices that will help avoid online fraud.

Protecting Your Identity & Conducting Your Transactions Online

Identity theft is the act of using an individual’s personal information, without their knowledge or consent, to illegally apply for credit, make purchases, or gain access to funds. Reduce your risk and protect your personal information online by adopting the following practices:

• Never give out personal information to anyone online unless you have verified and initiated the contact. The bank will never initiate a call to ask you for your user name, password, or other electronic banking credentials.

• Safeguard your user name and passwords and change your password periodically. Also, do not use obvious passwords or answers to challenge questions.

• Never input personal or banking information online without checking that the website is in a “secured” environment; and do not click on links sent in unsolicited emails.

• Make sure to log-off each session, especially when using a public (shared) computer. Simply closing out of a system is not enough.

How Baylake Bank Helps To Safeguard Your Internet Account Management Session

Log-In and Password Feature—To make accessing your Baylake Bank accounts more secure, we require that you create your Customer ID or User Name and password to log-in. This information is then authenticated by Baylake Bank’s system to verify who you are before account access is provided.