Something Smells Phishy

What do you do when you receive an email that appears to come from Vantage? Chances are this email warns you of a serious problem that requires your immediate attention. It may use phrases, such as "Immediate Attention Required" or "Please contact us immediately about your account" or "Your debit card has been compromised". Then, the email asks to click on a button that will take you to a website that has our logo and colors all over it. You click on this button and this site is asking for account information like your username, password, debit card number, social security number, etc.

Recently, other forms of phishing are starting to rise. These bad people are sending text messages to phones asking to call a number and basically asking for the same information. This is known as "SMISHING".

The email and/or text message looks like it came from Vantage. The website has Vantage's logo on it. Is it Vantage? NO! NEVER! The fact is; we will never do this. We will never send you an email and/or text message giving you such bad news. There are bad folks out there whose sole purpose is to steal your identity and subsequently steal your money. Don't fall victim to these attempts. Check out some good video provided by OnGuard Online. There is whole bunch of good information on this website on how to look for potential phish scams but more importantly; how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim.

If you've received such messages, please report it immediately. We will sick our Internet Identity dogs on these folks to get these sites shutdown. In most cases, we shut down these sites within minutes of being reported. More importantly, don't let your curious clicks get the best of you. Sometimes, just by clicking on the site can unload a series of bad things on your computer known as BOTNETS or malicious software that can cause a whole lot of hurt and quite frankly could easily steal important information that may be contained on your computer. The purpose of this software is collect whatever information they can and send it back to their servers so they can begin the process of stealing your identity. As I mentioned, there is a great deal of good information out there to help you prevent this from happening to you. They are:

• The Federal Trade Commission - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
• OnGuard Online (My Favorite) - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
• OCC - http://www.occ.treas.gov/consumer/phishing.htm

All of these sites provide the basic information that will inform you on:

• How phishing works
• How to protect yourself
• What to do if you fall victim

Your Information Security is of utmost importance to us. To find out more what we're doing click here. On April 13th, we're going to be rolling out a new online banking system that has several enhanced security features. Additionally, the new system will have a built in secure messaging system. This system will be the channel in which we'll be able to communicate with you in a secure manner. No email necessary.

Finally, the Internet is a wonderful thing. However, there is a dark side to it. Keep yourself safe and away from this dark side. Hopefully, I've provided some good tips on how to do that.

Thanks,

Cam