Online banking is a convenient, quick, and secure way to conduct business. In our digital world, however, there are people who will try to capture your online credentials (username and password) to commit Identity Theft and steal your money.

Trusteer

We want to help you make sure your computer is protected. That’s why we’ve partnered with Trusteer to offer you online fraud and identity theft protection software called Rapport. By installing Rapport, which is a FREE service, you are provided with an extra layer of security for your computer. It works by creating a protective bubble around your browser while you are on the Mercantile Bank Web site to help you ensure you are on our site, as opposed to a fake site.

Rapport works with, but does not replace, your anti-virus software and firewall. At Mercantile Bank, we are dedicated to giving you as much protection as possible that is easy to use and will not slow down your computer. How Trusteer Rapport protects you:

• Shield your online banking details from prying eyes
• Protect your passwords and financial details, even if your PC is infected
• Safeguard your identity
• Extra layer of protection works alongside your antivirus and firewall

Details

Two of the common methods that thieves use to steal your online credentials are:

Key-loggers and Screen Captures - A key-logger is malware that can record keystrokes or take screenshots when specific activity (such as connecting to a bank Web site) are detected on the computer. Malware typically gets on a user’s computer when that user opens an e-mail or program that contains a “trojan” (which is a program that looks innocuous, but in fact is a key-logger or screen capture program).

Phishing and other Social Engineering Scams - Phishing is a scam in which an attacker sends a fake e-mail impersonating a valid financial or eCommerce provider. The e-mail often references a loss of service or other problems that will occur if the victim fails to visit the fraudulent Web site. Once on the Web site (which generally looks much like the valid eCommerce/banking site), the victim is instructed to log in to his account and enter sensitive financial information such as bank PIN or Social Security number. This information is then sent to the attacker, who uses it to engage in credit card and bank fraud or identity theft.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your computer systems and online credentials are properly secured. Not following these basic precautions referenced below exposes your systems to significant risk.

Helpful Tips

Common practices to combat these threats are:

Utilize anti-virus / anti-spyware software: This software should be set to automatically update to stay current and routinely perform scans on the computer systems to detect, alert, and / or clean any malicious software on the computer system that it may find. Popular vendors of anti-virus / anti-spyware products (Note: The bank is not an affiliate of, nor does it endorse, specific vendors) Norton – www.Norton.com; McAfee – www.McAfee.com/antivirus; AVG – www.AVGAntiVirus.com

Maintain a sound computing system: Maintain your computer system by applying vendor released software patches. This can be accomplished through the system auto-update feature in Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

Utilize a firewall: This will help prevent unauthorized connections to your computer system. Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, and 7 provide this capability within its software.

Use strong passwords: Passwords should be at least 8 characters long and be a mix of both upper and lower case alphabetic and numeric characters. Do not write this information down and never give it out to anyone. You should change your passwords on a regular basis.

Ensure you have a secure connection on your browser: Before you enter password information on a Web site, you should ensure it is secured. This is easily identifiable by checking for a lock symbol at the bottom corner of the browser.

Never click on a link provided in e-mail to log in to the bank: It is safer to type the destination into the browser. This helps to prevent phishing scams from redirecting you to a fraudulent site.