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Online Privacy and Fraud
With the rapid expansion of technological capability in our industry and in our institution, First Bancorp and its Affiliates are committed to maintaining and expanding effective systems to facilitate the convenient delivery of services, regardless of the method of delivery. We value our customers and recognize the importance of your trust and confidence in us. Non-personal and anonymous information gathered when visiting our website will be used only for appropriate purposes such as evaluation of our web pages’ effectiveness, designing new products or services for the benefit of our customers or estimating system capacity need to conveniently service our customers.
Through our website, we strive to provide valuable information regarding our services. This includes information about our products, locations, and hours of operation. Whether you are a valued, existing customer or someone shopping for new bank services, we hope our site answers your questions.
Our website does not require you to disclose any personally identifying information. If, however, you choose to contact us via e-mail, please keep in mind that your e-mail address, and any other information your e-mail header shows about you, such as your name or organization, will be revealed to us in the e-mail. If you choose to provide us with personally identifying information through accessing your online accounts, emails or other services such as online applications and forms, we will protect that nonpublic personal information in accordance with the provisions of this Notice. We do collect and store information about the name of the domain from which you access the Internet.
We also monitor the date and time that you access our site. Other than that, we collect information on visitors only in the aggregate and use it for internal review purposes only. This information simply enables us to tell which areas of the site are of most interest to our users, which avenues of site promotion are most effective, and when peak usage times are.
Cookies
Cookies are pieces of data assigned by a web server to the browser on your PC. Cookies can only be read by the Web server that sent the cookie to your browser, and cannot be used to retrieve any personal information including files stored on your computer. Also, cookies help us confirm your identity and help us keep your transactions with us secure when you do your banking online. Most browsers provide you with the ability to restrict or completely reject cookies. (However, we recommend against making such a selection, as it may hinder our ability to securely protect your account from unauthorized users and impact your ability to use some features.)
Links to Third Party Websites
We may provide you with access to information, products, or services offered on third party websites through the use of hyperlinks that move you from our website to a third party website. If you choose to access third party websites through links on our pages, we are not responsible for the privacy or security of these sites, including the accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of their information. If you are asked to provide information on one of these websites we urge you to study their privacy policies carefully before sharing. Information obtained from third parties in connection with your transactions with them may be shared with First Bank for marketing purposes.
Children’s Information
We do not knowingly collect, maintain, or use personally identifiable information from children under age 13 on our websites. We are not responsible for the data collection and use practices of nonaffiliated third-parties that are linked from our websites. Your child’s online privacy is protected by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Learn more about COPPA by visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s website.
Zelle®
When using the Zelle® feature within our mobile banking application, if you give permission to Zelle® to import your contacts, the contact list information may include the name, contact image, email address, and phone number of the recipient or other suggested contacts on your device. Contact list information is used to help you quickly select trusted contacts to make Zelle® payments. Recipient contact information is used to provide you with a list of transaction history activity within Zelle® which may include the amount of the transaction and the transaction date. First Bank does not share or sell this transaction history or contact list information. This information is covered by our general privacy policies and procedures and will not be sold or used for marketing purposes.
Online Fraud & ID Theft
As more people become accustomed to conducting business on the internet, the potential for online fraud increases. Online fraud occurs when someone poses as a legitimate company to illegally obtain sensitive personal data. Often called “phishing” or “spoofing,” the most current methods of online fraud are fake emails, websites and pop-up windows, or any combination of these. If you get an unsolicited e-mail asking you to verify or confirm your confidential personal information or to complete a form which asks for your confidential personal information, please be wary.
At First Bank, we typically do not ask for personal information via email or pop-up windows. However, if you contact us or we contact you about an issue or question on one of your accounts or your activity, we will ask some verifying questions to validate your identity.
If you are ever suspicious about any communication claiming to be from First Bank, please contact us for verification before responding.
How is my email address obtained?
Email addresses can be obtained from publicly available sources or through randomly generated lists. Therefore, if you receive a fake email that appears to be from First Bank, this does not mean that your email address, name, or any other information has been taken from First Bank’s systems.
How can I detect online fraud?
It’s often difficult to tell if an email is legitimate. Emails and websites often appear to be from legitimate companies and include images and logos of these organizations. Following are some common characteristics of fraudulent emails and websites:
- They often have a sense of urgency telling clients that if they fail to update, verify, or confirm their personal or account information, access to their accounts will be suspended.
- They request your personal or account information.
- They include links that appear legitimate. They often include links that include a legitimate company’s name or web address. Always type web addresses into your browser instead of clicking on links.
- They often have incorrect grammar. The emails and pop-up websites may include misspelled words and incorrect grammar.
How can I help protect myself?
With a few simple steps, you can help protect your First Bank accounts and personal information:
- Delete suspicious emails without opening them. If you do open a suspicious email, do not open any attachments or click on any links it may contain.
- Never provide sensitive account or personal information in response to an email.
- Install and regularly update virus protection software.
- Install anti-spyware on your computer. Anti-spyware can help prevent the collection of your personal and account information without your knowledge.
- Keep your computer operating system and Web browser current.
- Be cognizant of your surroundings when using a public computer or working on a wireless network.
- Keep your online accounts active – such as Online Banking with Bill Pay. Check your accounts regularly and report any suspicious activity.
What should I do if I think I am a victim of online fraud?
Contact First Bank immediately. You may reach us at 1‑866‑792‑4357 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Or you may submit an e‑mail message to fraud@localfirstbank.com. Please attach or forward a copy of the suspected fake e-mail with your message to us.
Please tell us about any unsolicited e-mails allegedly from First Bank or any of our subsidiaries. Also, please tell us if someone calls you, claims to be from First Bank and asks you for your personal confidential information.
You can obtain valuable information about online fraud from the Federal Government including:
Zelle and the Zelle related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.