The Energy CU recommends members change their passwords often. Do not reuse any passwords or use the same or similar passwords for different accounts. This also includes passwords for Interac e-Transfer®. Our industry is seeing an increase in attempted brute force attacks, continue to be vigilant, monitor your transactions and contact us immediately if there is any suspicious activity.
Tips to help protect your online account.
- Change your password regularly and use a strong password with at least 8 characters, combining random (upper case and lower case) letters and numbers. Always avoid using any common words, phrases or number combinations and never create a password that contains your name, initials, address, date of birth or other personal data that could be easily guessed or cracked.
- Memorize your password and security questions/answers. Do not write your passwords down
- Be sure not to share them with anyone. Not family, friends or even Energy CU. We will never ask you for your confidential information via phone or email. All the safeguards in the world will not help if you give your personal information away.
- Ignore the ‘remember password’ option.
- Keep checking your account regularly to ensure all transactions posted are ones you authorized. Report any fraudulent or suspicious activity to your branch immediately.
- Do not use the same password for online banking that you use for other online accounts and sites if one account is breeched you are putting all your accounts at risk
- Do not use public computers or public WI-FI to do your banking, including those at libraries, internet cafes, coffee shops and schools
- Make sure you log out of online banking each time you finish, especially if you find it necessary to use a public computer
- Keep your computer, and access to it, secure. Most people think their computers are secure, but they can actually be at risk. Be sure to keep your licensed anti-virus software up-to-date.
- Do not access your online account by clicking on a link in an email. Access online banking only from the home page of our website or by typing the URL directly into the address bar. That way you know the site is legitimate. You may even want to bookmark the site for future visits
- Look for the secure padlock on the browser window (part of the URL address at the top) and ‘https’ in the address line to make sure your information in encrypted. You can also double click the security padlock to verify the security certificate.
- Check for anything unusual, unprofessional or out of place like a slightly altered domain name, imperfect logo, or urgent account verification request. Copycat websites deliberately use names, URLs and web pages that are very similar to legitimate financial institutions.
- Keep your system up-to-date. Whether you are using a laptop or desktop or mobile device to access the internet, make sure you are downloading appropriate updates and keeping your system up-to-date. Some Trojan horse viruses only work on older out dated software, so your computer will be more vulnerable to attack when it has not been updated.
- Set up free account alerts on your Energy CU account so you will receive notification (by text or email) when certain activities occur on your account. These alerts can be customized to your needs and wishes. Example of alerts can be when the account balance drops below a certain amount, or when someone logs into your Energy CU online banking.
Questions? Give us a call at 416-238-5606 ext. 0 to ease your mind!
