Fall is here, and we are enjoying the turning of the leaves and preparing for Halloween later this month. October is also Cybersecurity Awareness Month and is a perfect opportunity to highlight some tips and tricks to keep your personal information and financial accounts safe on the evolving digital landscape. Digital service—online and mobile banking—are increasing in popularity, evidenced by strong adoption and utilization during the pandemic. The benefits of using electronic channels and embracing digital capabilities are compelling. However, it is also critical to protect your personal information to limit the risk of identity theft. 

Two critical tenets of operating safely in the digital environment are prevention and monitoring. Fundamentally, having separate passwords for all your accounts is imperative. Simply stated, the stronger your passwords are, the harder they are to crack by hackers lurking on the World Wide Web. Specifically, ensure that your passwords are strong—long, unique, and complex. 

Strong passwords have more than 14 characters and do not include the names of family, birthdays, friends, license plate numbers, or your favorite sports teams. In addition, strong passwords have a meaningful combination of lowercase and uppercase letters and numbers as well as special characters. Once you have a strong password, do not allow computer software to “remember” the password, and do not share your passwords with anyone or store them where other people may discover them.

From a monitoring perspective, you can review your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. Each year, consumers can get a free copy of their credit report from each major credit agency—TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Your credit report will highlight all the credit trade lines corresponding to your identity and details the companies that pulled your credit over the last two years. This strategy is an excellent way to monitor your credit profile and verify your identity has not been stolen and utilized to acquire credit. If you believe your identity was stolen, you can initiate a fraud alert online with the credit agencies listed below.

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion

It is also essential to know your rights when remediating identity theft when someone uses your information to open new accounts or make purchases. An extensive list of actions published by the Federal Trade Commission designed to support the resolution of identity theft can be found at www.identitytheft.gov/#/Know-Your-Rights.  

Finally, I hope this list of action items empowers you to prevent, monitor, and remediate identity theft in your financial lives. We take pride in providing our members with peace of mind and support during challenging times. Know that our team works hard every day to manage the various risks on the cyber landscape to protect you. This effort is important in delivering our mission and creating financial freedom for the communities we serve. 

Warm regards,

When October rolls around, many are reminded of trick or treating—the annual Halloween tradition where you roam through the community, disguised as someone or something else, demanding treats while threatening mischief. For security and risk professionals like me, it’s easy to see the parallels between Halloween and protecting our companies and customers from cyber threats. However, when someone knocks on our door, it’s far less cute and fun.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a time to remind people of cybersecurity threats and the best practices that can protect you, your loved ones, and your business from them. According to the World Economic Forum, 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error, and the vast majority of cybercrimes involve attackers impersonating someone or something else in an attempt to trick their target into handing over their data, passwords, or money. Sound familiar?

American Eagle has a partnership with both the Allpoint and SUM networks. That means you can use ATMs and/or VTMs (Video Teller Machines) at AEFCU locations, in addition to any ATM with an Allpoint or SUM network sticker on it, and you will still pay NO FEES! The ATM might be inside Costco, CVS, Dunkin’ Donuts, Nordstrom, or even have another financial institution’s logo on it. As long as it’s on our list, it’s in our network. You can find the full list of more than 60,000 ATMs in the Allpoint and SUM networks under the Branches and ATMs dropdown on our website as well as inside our Mobile Banking App for on-the-go access.  

American Eagle Financial Credit Union announced the recipients of $26,430 in donations from its participatory funding program, Cash Back to the Community.

Congratulations to The Arc of Connecticut, Inc., Connecticut Children’s Foundation, and Love MOM Foundation, Inc. Each nonprofit organization received an $8,810 donation for earning the most votes in AEFCU’s third quarter Cash Back to the Community program. A total of 219 organizations were nominated and 1,447 votes were cast by AEFCU members and the general public.