At Popular Bank, we get you. We know that if you’re like many Americans who are concerned about fraud and identity theft, you already take steps to protect your bank and credit card accounts, including:

• Following security recommendations for password and personal identification numbers (PINs)
• Analyzing your account regularly and immediately reporting suspicious activity
• Ensuring your new and cancelled checks are stored in a secure place, limiting the type of personal information you include on them, carrying them only when you need them, and immediately reporting lost/stolen checks

It’s also important to take precautions to avoid fraud with your credit and debit cards/accounts. That’s because as many as 100 million Americans each year risk identity theft and an estimated 15 million Americans experience it.¹

Although laws and strategies at banks, institutions, companies, and retailers can help protect your personal information, you are the best person to protect yourself from fraud. At Popular Bank, your privacy is our focus.

Popular Bank recommends these tips to ensure the security of your credit/debit cards and accounts:

• Sign your credit/debit card and add the message, “See ID,” to the signature bar
• Keep your credit/debit cards in a safe place
• Immediately report lost/stolen cards and unauthorized use of them
• Avoid emailing your credit/debit card numbers
• Avoid giving your credit/debit card numbers over the phone unless you initiated the call
  to a reliable retailer/institution
• Analyze your credit/debit card account statements as soon as you get them
  and report suspicious transactions
• Change your debit card PIN number voluntarily and often; do not recycle/repeat PINs/passwords
• Avoid PINs that include birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, and other identifiers that might be easy for a thief to research and use
• Don’t share or write down passwords/PINs; do not let anyone see you enter it for transactions
• Cut up unused credit/debit cards as soon as you get a replacement card
• Ensure your Internet purchases are secured with encryption
  • Symbols such as a padlock in the lower right corner of your web browser
    and the s in an https URL indicate the web page is encrypted
• Log off of websites on which you have made purchases; close your browser if you cannot log off of a site
• Log off of your online banking page as soon as you are finished with it
• If you get a voice message about your credit/debit card, only respond
  to the number on the back of your card
• Do not share your credit/debit card numbers with anyone who requests them for identification only
• Clear your Internet browser
• Secure your social media settings to protect your private information; Face Book can be a source of information for thieves
• Do not click unsubscribe links in and do not reply with an unsubscribe message to unsolicited emails. Instead, delete the emails to avoid confirming to thieves that your address is live 

Popular Bank empowers you with secure online features. To help you take an active role in protecting yourself from fraud, Popular Bank allows you to monitor your account online any time and as often as you like. If you believe the security of your account has been compromised, call us immediately at 1-800-377-0800. 

Reference

Identity Theft and Scam Prevention Services. Identity Theft Victim Statistics. Identitytheft.info. Accessed February 8, 2016.