Suspected Account or Card Fraud

The sooner you report fraud or identity theft, the faster Park Bank, other financial institutions and the authorities can take steps to assist you.

If you believe you are a victim of identity theft or that your accounts have been compromised, it is important that you take action immediately. Contact Park Bank or your banker at 414.466.8000 or visit a branch location during business hours. Additional information and resources are provided below.

Potential Online/Computer Intrusion

If you suspect that your security has been breached, there has been unauthorized access or any fraud has occurred with respect to your Park Bank Online Banking account, you should:

  1. Turn off the infected computer and disconnect it from your network.
  2. Call Park Bank at 414.466.8000 immediately and ask for the Treasury Management Department (for business accounts) or your banker (for personal banking accounts).We will start the process to re-secure you banking information. It is very important that this is done immediately.
  3. If you discover a problem outside of business hours, call 800.733.9970 (option 1, then option 2)
    *Business Online Banking Customers only

 

For Deposit and Loan Accounts

Contact Park Bank or your banker at 414.466.8000 during business hours.  

 

Credit Card and Debit Cards

Contact the financial institution immediately at any time of the day or night to lock down your card from potential fraudulent activity. Ask that access to your accounts be restricted. Get the telephone numbers here.

If you plan to use your debit or credit card while traveling, contact us to ensure there is no disruption to your service. If you do not notify us, our anti-fraud measures may interpret your card usage as possible fraud. Get the telephone numbers here.

 

Important Contacts to Make

  • If you believe your financial information may have been compromised, contact Park Bank at 414.466.8000.
  • If you feel you have been the victim of a fraud scheme, contact your local police department.
  • If you would like to place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your personal credit, contact the three major credit bureaus:
    Equifax 800.685.1111
    Experian 888.397.3742
    TransUnion 800.916.8800
  • If the fraud is in relation to your social security benefits, then you may also want to contact the Social Security Administration Fraud Line at 800.269.0271

Take Additional Precautions

After you have called all of the financial institutions and credit card companies that you do business with, alerting them to a potential fraud or theft:

  • Check through your personal documents to determine if any items are missing.
  • If checks are missing from your checkbook, issue stop payments on each check.
  • If your driver's license is stolen, call your local Department of Motor Vehicles office.
  • If you Social Security card is stolen, call the Social Security Administration.
  • Change your PINs and passwords immediately.
  • Review transactions on all of your accounts (banks, brokerage firms, credit card companies).
  • File a report with the police and get a copy of it for your records.
  • Document what happened when and to whom you spoke.

Security Tips and Resources

If you suspect that you have received a suspicious email that appears to be from Park Bank:

  1. Do not respond.
  2. Do not click on any links.
  3. Do not provide and personal information.
  4. Forward the email to Park Bank at DaveO@ParkBankOnline.com
  5. Delete the email.
    If you responded or disclosed your personal information to a possible fraudulent message, notify Park Bank's security team immediately at 414.466.8000.

What a suspicious email may look like:

  • It contains poor grammar, punctuation and spelling
  • Subject lines often contain the words "urgent". These types of messages are preying on quick emotions from you rather than a rational one.
  • The sender is requesting personal confidential information or for you to follow a link to enter or reset your password or PIN; Park Bank or any financial institution will never ask for person confidential information or a PIN via email.
  • Check the email address of the sender; if you don't recognize the person, be suspicious, Even if you recognize the sender, it's possible their email has been hacked or spoofed and is being used without their authorization.

 

Arm yourself with knowledge to enhance safety and security of your account and cards:

Debit card safety tips:

  • Monitor transaction activity on your account by using text or email alerts. These can be set up in Online Banking.
  • Never provide you PIN to anyone. When visiting merchants and ATMs, always conceal your PIN and watch for:
    • Cell phones cameras, mirrors or other tools used to view cars and PINs
    • People watching your transactions
    • Any unusual activity at ATMs or when paying at the pump
    • Unsolicited emails that ask you to verify your card number, PIN, account number or other personal information; these emails are not sent by legitimate businesses
    • Links to websites that look legitimate, but may collect data or place malware on your computer

 

Park Bank applies an extra layer of account security by monitoring your debit card transactions for potentially fraudulent activity which may include:

  • An unusual geographical change, such as when a United States-issued card is unexpectedly used overseas
  • A string of costly foreign or domestic purchases
  • Unusual e-commerce transactions
  • Any pattern associated with various foreign or domestic fraud trends.

If we suspect fraudulent ATM or debit card use, you will receive an automated phone call or text to validate the legitimacy of the transaction. You participation in responding to our call is critical to prevent potential risk and avoid restrictions that mat be placed on the use of your card. here is what you can expect when we are attempting to validate a suspicious transaction:

  1. An automated call will ask you to verify recent transaction activity on your card
  2. You will be provided a toll-free number to call should you have additional questions

Keep Park Bank informed of your correct phone number, email and street address to ensure we can reach you whenever potential fraud is detected. We highly recommend that you opt to use your cell phone number as the main phone contact, so we can reach you at any time, even when you are traveling.

 

Online Banking Best Practices

  • Create a "strong" password with at least eight characters that includes a combination of mixed case letters, numbers and special characters
  • Change your password frequently
  • Never share user ID and password information with third-party providers
  • Avoid using an automatic login feature that saves us user IDs or passwords
  • Do not use public or other unsecured computers or networks for logging into you online accounts
  • Check the latest login date.time every time you log in.
  • Review account balances and detail transactions regularly (preferably daily) to confirm payment and other transaction data. Set system alerts for transactions and balances.
  • Do not use account numbers, your Social Security number or other personal information when creating account nicknames or other titles
  • Use the historical reporting features on a regular basis to confirm payment and other transaction data
  • Never leave a computer unattended while using Online Banking
  • Do not download software from websites that you don't completely trust; if you are unsure, chances are good that you may be downloading a key logging program or other malicious software unknowingly
  • Scrutinize links before clicking on them
  • Purchase and maintain a subscription to a desktop, antivirus system; do not download a free version
  • Be sure your computer operating system, software, browser version and plug-ins are current. Unpatched and outdated software can lead to security vulnerabilities

 

Website Resources

Identity Theft:

Federal Trade Commission http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/identity-theft

Department of Justice http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html

Security Awareness:

Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html

State of Wisconsin Consumer Protection https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/IdentityTheft.aspx

Federal Trade Commission Counterfeit Check Awareness http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0159-fake-checks