Eight Fraud Prevention Tips

If you’re among those who wish to better protect yourself from the growing problem of identity theft, The Summit is here to help.

It’s important to be on the lookout for fraudulent activity and to know how to safeguard against it. Lucky for you, The Summit monitors this kind of activity on a daily–and even hourly–basis.

Here are 8 quick tips you should keep in mind to better protect yourself:

1. Never give any personal information to anyone, unless it is someone you have contacted directly. Personal information should never be provided to an unsolicited email, text or phone call. At The Summit, we will never call you and ask for personal information. If you get a call from someone who says they are from The Summit and they are asking for personal account information, hang up and give us a call.
2. Don’t respond to a text message or phone call from a number you don’t recognize.
3. Always check your account and credit card statements for any unusual activity. If there is any unexplained transaction activity, report it to us as soon as possible.
4. Keep your debit and credit cards in a safe place when out and about. We recommend carrying around the minimum number of debit and credit cards as possible with you. Cards that are not carried with you should be kept in a secure location.
5. Never give anyone your Personal Identification Number (PIN) number.
6. When you’re online, make sure that you’re on a secure website before making a payment. Always verify that the website address is correct in the address bar. We also recommend not accessing your bank account when using public WIFI.
7. Never click on any links or open any attached files in a spam email, even if it looks like it is from someone on your contact list.
8. When using social networking sites, be sure to use the strict privacy policy settings.