Protect Yourself

Back to Fraud Resource Center

Below are a few steps you can take to implement a layered approach to security, helping to protect you and your identity.

• Protect yourself when using e-mail. Do not click embedded links or open attachments within e-mail unless you can verify the source. The links may appear to be legitimate but may actually be links to Web sites that can infect your computer with malware. Also, do not use e-mail to communicate sensitive information. E-mail can be easily read by unintended people.
• Protect your passwords
  • Never divulge your password. No one from SVB will ask you for your password.
  • Always use strong passwords for your accounts. This means selecting passwords that are not common words, and contain a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols (~!@#$%^&*).
  • Avoid using publicly available personal data, such as your birth date, or family, relative or pet names, to protect you from social engineering attacks. Avoid using information you have made available on social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace. Also be cautious when selecting security challenge questions.
  • Use unique passwords for each of your accounts. By doing this, if fraudsters are able to get your e-mail account password, they will not be able to get your online banking password as well.
  • Change your passwords periodically or if you have reason to believe your password may have been compromised.
  • Do not reuse previous passwords.
  • Do not write your user name and password down.
• Report phishing scams and other types of possible fraud. Report any phishing e-mails you receive to the organization being impersonated in the e-mail. If you become aware of a possible fraud situation please contact your client services officer immediately at http://svb.com/contactus.aspx?service=cs. The Federal Trade Commission Web site has many helpful resources regarding identity theft at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/.