Yesterday, credit reporting agency Equifax announced that between May and August there had been a data breach affecting 143 million of their customers. Personal information potentially compromised include social security numbers, credit card numbers, driver’s license numbers, addresses and birthdates. To find out if you may have been affected by this breach, please visit https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/ and follow the online instructions. Equifax is offering one year of free credit monitoring, whether or not you were affected by this breach.

As a reminder, you are always entitled to receive a FREE copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit reporting companies, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian to ensure that the information on all of your credit reports is correct and up to date. Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com for more information.

The security of your personal information is a top priority at Charles River Bank and it is important to note that your Charles River Bank accounts have NOT been accessed and continue to remain secure. If you have any questions about your accounts with us, please call your Personal Banker at 508-533-8661.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE EQUIFAX DATA BREACH

Yesterday, credit reporting agency Equifax announced that between May and August there had been a data breach affecting 143 million of their customers. Personal information potentially compromised include social security numbers, credit card numbers, driver’s license numbers, addresses and birthdates. To find out if you may have been affected by this breach, please visit https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/ and follow the online instructions. Equifax is offering one year of free credit monitoring, whether or not you were affected by this breach.

As a reminder, you are always entitled to receive a FREE copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit reporting companies, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian to ensure that the information on all of your credit reports is correct and up to date. Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com for more information.

The security of your personal information is a top priority at Charles River Bank and it is important to note that your Charles River Bank accounts have NOT been accessed and continue to remain secure. If you have any questions about your accounts with us, please call your Personal Banker at 508-533-8661.

Important Fraud Alert

Protect Your Business from a Corporate Account Takeover (CATO)

It has become a growing and serious threat for businesses, schools, and municipalities of all sizes. It’s a sophisticated form of electronic fraud known as a Corporate Account Takeover or CATO. And it has allowed cyber thieves to steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting organizations of all sizes.

With CATO, cyber thieves are able to take control of company computers and confidential banking information to infiltrate accounts and transfer funds to their own accounts.

How do they do it?

In many cases, they target employees who utilize online banking and use sophisticated phishing scams and other tactics that allows them to plant dangerous malware that hijacks computer systems. Cyber thieves have been known to pose as credible organizations, such as the Better Business Bureau, IRS, or even banks, and may make phone calls or use social networks, such as Facebook to lure unsuspecting employees into providing private information.

Know the warning signs.

How do you know if your company’s computer systems may have been comprised? Here are some warning signs:

• Dramatic loss of computer speed
• Differences in the way things appear on the screen
• Freezing or locking up of computer screens
• Unexpected rebooting or restarting
• Unexpected request for a token pass-code in the middle of an online session
• Unusual pop-up messages, especially a message in the middle of an online banking session that says the connection to the bank system is not working (system unavailable, down for maintenance, etc.)
• New or unexpected toolbars and/or icons
• Inability to shut down or restart the computer

What you can do to protect your organization.

While any business can become a victim of a CATO, organizations that do not have strong Internet security policies are most vulnerable. There are, however, some steps you can take to reduce your company’s chances of being victimized:

• Educate employees. Tell them about CATO and instruct them not to open unsolicited emails.
• Review bank account activity carefully and regularly.
• Separate banking responsibilities. For example, have one employee initiate ACH and wire transfers from one computer and another employee approve transactions on another computer.
• Install a firewall and anti-virus software.
• Create strong passwords. Do not use the same online banking password for everything.
• Never leave a computer unattended while using any online banking service. Always lock computers when unattended.
• Never access bank, brokerage or other financial services information at Internet cafes, public libraries, airports, etc.

Immediately report suspicious activity to Charles River Bank.

After notification of an incident, Charles River Bank will assist with:

• Disabling online access to accounts
• Changing online banking passwords
• Opening new account(s) as appropriate
• Assisting with review of all recent transactions and electronic authorizations on the account(s)
• Confirming no one has requested an address change, check reorder, debit card order or other information be send to a different address

Be assured, at Charles River Bank, we use the highest level of security to protect your account and personal information while banking online. To learn more about other ways you can protect your business, visit https://www.mass.gov/service-details/frequently-asked-questions-about-corporate-account-takeovers.

The Bank will reverse fraudulent transactions and will attempt to identify and notify any receiving financial institution of the fraudulent transactions.

Charles River Bank customers should be aware of the continuing threat posed by multiple e-mail-based scams known as “phishing”. These e-mail-based scams attempt to collect private account information from customers through deceptive and misleading methods.

For example, these phishing e-mails fraudulently request personal information including user ids, passwords, Social Security numbers, credit or ATM card numbers. The unsuspecting customer’s personal information is generally gathered through a link provided in the e-mail that directs the recipient to web sites that look very much like a legitimate Charles River Bank site.

Please note that Charles River Bank does not solicit sensitive, private information from customers through unsecure e-mail. Also, Charles River Bank recommends accessing our website by typing the website address into your browser or by using a “bookmark” that directs the browser to our site.

Customers who receive these e-mails should not follow any of the instructions in the e-mail, and should not click on the links contained in the e-mail. If customers follow these steps, their accounts are not in jeopardy of being compromised.

If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of an e-mail message that appears to be from Charles River Bank, please forward it immediately to customerservice@charlesriverbank.com. As stated above, do not respond to the e-mail message or click any of the links contained in the e-mail. Please do not remove the original subject line or change the e-mail in any way when you forward it to us.

Customers who may have clicked on the links and entered information in response to one or more of these e-mails should:

• Contact Charles River Bank immediately at (508) 533-8661.
• Contact the following three credit bureaus to have a fraud alert placed on your credit report:
• Equifax Fraud Line: (800) 525-6285
• Experian Fraud Line: (800) 397-3742
• Trans Union Fraud Line: (800) 680-7289
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission* or (877) IDTHEFT — (877) 438-4338.

Additionally, to ensure that your computer was not infected with any malicious software that the phishing e-mail may have contained, we highly recommend that you immediately run a scan* to check for viruses or adware/spyware. Please contact a computer security professional if you need assistance with determining whether or not your computer has been infected.

At Charles River Bank protecting your privacy and the security of your information is very important to us. Read more about how we protect your privacy and security.

*Please note that Charles River Bank is not affiliated with any provider of software packages that scan your computer, and we cannot endorse or recommend any particular one.