Fraud Alerts

Posted May 14, 2008:

We received notice of an individual or individuals making calls to residents within our communities who are identifying themselves as being from a company called Tele-Protect and they indicate they are working in cooperation with Central National Bank. They are posing as a fraud protection company trying to renew a fraud protection plan, which the customer enrolled in last year. They are telling customers that their existing fraud protection plan is about to expire and it is necessary to have the customer re-enroll in the service. The caller is then asking for the customers account information.

THIS COMPANY IS NOT A REPRESENTATIVE OF CENTRAL NATIONAL BANK and we strongly encourage you not to give personal information over the phone or online if it is not to a known and trusted source. If you are unsure, hang up and call your local bank.

Posted May 14, 2008

Example:(Submitted, April 2008)

Subject: Get 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund ( $1800 )


Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as
part of President Bush program to jumpstart the economy.

Our records indicate that you are qualified to receive the
2008 Economic Stimulus Refund.

The fastest and easiest way to receive your refund is by
direct deposit to your checking/savings account.

Please click on the link and fill out the form and submit
before April 18th, 2008 to ensure that your refund will be
processed as soon as possible.

Submitting your form on April 18th, 2008 or later means that
your refund will be delayed due to the volume of requests we
anticipate for the Economic Stimulus Refund.

To access Economic Stimulus Refund, please click here.

An e-mail claiming to come from the IRS about the "2008 Economic Stimulus Refund" tells recipients to click on a link to fill out a form, apparently for direct deposit of the payment into their bank account. This appears to be an identity theft scheme to obtain recipients' personal and financial information so the scammers can clean out their victims' financial accounts. In reality, taxpayers do not have to fill out a separate form to get a stimulus payment or have it directly deposited; all they had to do was file a tax return and provide direct deposit information on the return.

Posted January 18, 2008:

Please beware if you received an unsolicited email purporting to be from “Central Bank” regarding your access to online banking.  “Central Bank” is not affiliated with Central National Bank and the email may be a “phishing” attempt to obtain personal financial information as described below.

A new phishing attack has been targeted to customers of a financial institution in Italy. This attack is unique because it links to the institution’s actual website instead of using a fake website like most phishing attacks. Once the customer clicks on the link in the email, they are directed to the institution's website to log on. However, an attack embedded within the link allows the attacker to capture the username and password as the user logs in. The username and password are recorded by the attacker for future use.  Be advised to never log in to a secure website by clicking on a link inside an e-mail--even if it has a correct domain name.  Instead, type the domain name into your browser or use a shortcut/favorite that you already have set up.

Phishing

"Phishing" is the act of sending an e-mail purporting to be from a trusted source in an attempt to fool the user into surrendering their private or sensitive information that is later used for identity theft.  The e-mail then either contains a web page or directs users to a web page displaying logos, wording, and information from other real company web sites.  Usually, the e-mail asks to update or confirm account information such as passwords, bank account numbers, credit card information, or social security numbers.

Our Policy

Central National Bank will not e-mail you asking for personal account information such as account numbers, social security numbers, passwords, or other sensitive information.  If you receive an e-mail that asks you to confirm or update your account information or that you suspect is a phishing attempt, please contact us immediately.

All information you input into forms on our web site is done securely.  This means that the data is encrypted as it travels to Central National Bank.  You can ensure that a form you are filling out is secure by looking for the "https" in the beginning of the URL of the web page you are at or by looking for the padlock symbol on your browser window.

To ensure confidentiality, we do not recommend that you include personal or sensitive information when contacting us via our e-mail address, info@centralnational.com, as it is not a secure method of communication.

Ways to Protect Yourself

• Never share your username or password with anyone.

• Change your passwords frequently.

• Choose a strong password by using uncommon words and a combination of letters and numbers.

• Never provide anyone with your personal information from unsolicited e-mail or phone requests.

• Don't click on links within e-mails.  Instead, type the web site address into your browser.

• Never e-mail your personal account information such as account numbers, usernames, or passwords to anyone.  Instead, contact us and we will respond accordingly.

• Keep your anti-virus software and other security software updated.

Posted Nobember 2nd, 2007: