Phishing and Social Networking

Verify before you communicate!

Always verify the identity of the person or organization you're communicating with. 

The term phishing (pronounced “fishing”) refers to a scam in which criminals use fraudulent techniques to obtain your confidential financial information. By pretending to be a trusted friend, colleague or business partner in a seemingly official communication like an email, text, tweet or post, the criminal lures you in to visiting a website or entering information you normally wouldn’t share with a stranger. Phishing is most commonly conducted using the following methods:

  • Phishing – email communication.
  • SMishing – text communication.
  • Vishing – phone communication.

No matter how the correspondence is received, “phishing” is designed to mislead you in to providing information such as your account number, ID, password, PIN, card number, Social Security Number, date of birth, driver’s license or other non-public information about you.

In some instances, the goal of the phishing communication is to trick you into opening an attachment, clicking on a website URL, or viewing images in a post that installs malicious software on your computer. This software, called malware, can then monitor your online behavior including the keystrokes you enter when visiting our website and using online banking.

Spoofing is when a criminal poses as a trusted partner. Criminals send phishing communications spoofing trusted partners every day. The most common ones you will encounter pretend to be shipping companies, travel and airline companies, the FDIC and NACHA - the Electronic Payments Association, as well as ACNB Bank.

    Additional Resources:

    National Cyber Security Alliance

    The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA)’s mission is to educate and therefore empower a digital society to use the Internet safely and securely at home, work, and school, protecting the technology individuals use, the networks they connect to, and our shared digital assets.

    Ways to Identify Fraudulent Emails, Texts and Phone Calls:

    • Text, email or phone communications that state your debit or credit card has been deactivated. Be extremely cautious of any messages that direct you to an automated phone system asking you to enter your card number. Please contact us if you receive one of these messages.
    • Text, email or phone communication stating we need you to update the information you have on record with us.
    • Communications with poor grammar and spelling.
    • Communications that don’t seem to be typical behavior for the person texting, emailing or posting the communication.
    • Communications with urgent appeals stating you must take action promptly to continue a service or receive an offer that is only available for a limited time.
    • When you’re using online services, sites that look different and ask for more than you would typically enter. For example, if an online banking site begins asking for more than just your ID and Password (items such as your Social Security Number, date of birth, card number and expiration date), it is a clear sign your computer is infected with malware.

    Social Networking Tips

    Social networking sites provide criminals a wealth of information about you. Not only do they share information about your past such as where you grew up and what schools you attended, but they also include current information such as your friends, employer and interests. This information can easily be used to target you for additional phishing messages.

    • Be extremely cautious of emails, texts and posts from friends asking for money or posting odd links to news articles and images. It’s possible your friend’s account has been compromised and is being used by someone else to phish you.
    • Review the privacy settings of social sites and select the features appropriate for you.
    • Be cautious of how much personal information you share online.
    • Use different passwords for your online financial sites than what you use for social networking and personal email.
    • Think before you post. Protect your reputation by assuming everything you post online is permanent.

    Additional Tips

    • Visit our section on Online Banking Security to learn more about protecting your computer’s operating system and browser.
    • Don’t access links, attachments or images just out of curiosity. If you don’t clearly know the sender, delete the message.
    • Monitor your accounts frequently.
    • Obtain your free credit report annually.
    • Report fraud immediately.

    Remember, ACNB Bank will never:

    • Call, email or text you asking for your Online Banking password, Wire PIN, token codes, account numbers or debit card numbers. If you receive such a call, email or text message, do NOT give out any information. 
    • Direct you to a website that asks you to update your personal account information. 
    • Send an email to you containing computer software updates.
    • Visit your place of business and request to perform maintenance on your computer. 

    Important: If you receive a phone call, email or text message that you question, please take the time to call and ask us to validate the communication before taking any other action. Do not use the contact information provided in the email or text message that you receive. Use the number advertised on our web site or on the back of your debit/credit card so you know you are speaking to us. 

    Fraud concerns?

    Report fraud immediately.

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