How Bank Independent Protects
You Everyday
All Bank Independent deposit accounts come with
complimentary advanced protection including:
Purchase Monitoring – Your Bank Independent debit
card transactions are monitored 24/7 for fraud. If
purchases deviate from your normal patterns, you may
be contacted to confi rm purchases.
Zero Liability Protection – Under this liability
program, your signature debit card purchases may be
covered against fraud when you report your card lost
or stolen within a reasonable period of time.
Extra ID Verifi cation – Whether you’re at a teller
line or calling customer service we will ask specifi c
questions or request identifi cation to verify your
identity.
Confi dentiality Policy – Bank Independent will never
share your information with a third party in an attempt
to sell you other services without your permission.
Online Challenge Questions – Online and Mobile
Banking now contain extra security features to ask
challenge questions when accessing through a new
device or location.
Transfer Authentication – We provide enhanced
verifi cation of wire and bank-to-bank transfers.
Online Fraud Notifi cation – We provide monitoring for
suspicious Online Banking and Bill Pay access.
BI Card Guardian – Enroll for an extra layer of
complimentary protection from debit card fraud.
Complimentary eStatements – Protect your identity
with online statements delivered to a secure inbox, not
an unprotected mailbox
Reporting Suspicious Activity
Contact Customer Service at (256) 386-5000 or
(877) 865-5050 to report suspicious activity on your
Bank Independent accounts or to notify us of e-mails
asking you to provide Bank Independent online IDs,
passwords, or other account information.
We will never ask for your personal information through
an e-mail. You may also report suspicious transactions
anytime using our Online Dispute Form at
www.bibank.com/Online-Dispute-Form.
PRIVACY & SECURITY
877-865-5050 | bibank.com
Protecting your privacy,
identity and fi nancial
information has never been
more important to you, or
to Bank Independent.
Member
FDIC
Helpful Tip
Take advantage of Bank Independent’s
Sync Complete Digital Banking Solution to
greatly enhance the security of your fi nancial
information:
• eStatements and Online Banking
eliminate paper trails and shredding.
• Bill Pay and Direct Deposit eliminate
the risk of checks being stolen from an
unprotected mailbox.
• Online Banking alerts can be set to notify
you of certain transactions you might
deem suspicious.
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How You Can Protect Yourself
Prevention of identity theft and fraud begins by paying
extra attention to the details, remaining aware of
potential warning signs, and making it more difficult for
scammers and thieves to access your information.
General Best Practices
Prevention of identity theft and fraud begins by paying
extra attention to the details of your daily routines.
• Lock up your financial documents and records
in a safe place at home
• Limit what you carry with you to only the
identification, credit and debit cards you need.
Leave your Social Security and Medicare cards at
home or in a secure place
• Be careful with your mail and take outgoing
mail to a post office collection box, promptly
remove mail from your mailbox, and request a
vacation hold on your mail from the post office
when you’ll be away
• Consider opting out of prescreened offers
of credit and insurance by mail for five years
by calling (888) 567-8688 or visiting www.
optoutprescreen.com.
• Shred sensitive documents like receipts, credit
offers, insurance forms, expired charge cards, and
similar documents before putting them in your
trash
• Protect your medical information and destroy
prescription bottle labels before you throw them
out
• Exercise your curiosity by asking your
workplace, a business, your child’s school or
a doctor’s office how your information will be
handled and who will have access before you
share it with them.
Identity Theft Awareness
You should always remain aware of potential signs that
your information has been stolen.
For example, you may be a victim of identity theft or
fraud if:
• You see unexplained withdrawals from your bank
account
• Merchants refuse your checks
• You don’t get your bills or other mail as expected
• Debt collectors call you about debts that aren’t
yours
• You find unfamiliar accounts on your credit report
• Medical providers bill you for services you didn’t use
• Your health plan rejects your legitimate medical
claim because records show you’ve reached your
benefits limit
• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notifies you that
more than one tax return was filed in your name or
you have income from an employer for which you
haven’t worked
Online Security
The world of cyberspace presents unique challenges for
protecting yourself from identity theft and fraud. There
are several things you can do to make it more difficult
for scammers and thieves to access your information
electronically.
• Use unique and hard-to-guess passwords that
combine letters (both upper and lower case),
numbers, and symbols, and change passwords
regularly. Avoid using personal information
specifically, the last 4 digits of your SSN or your
date of birth in your password.
• Install security patches and software updates as
soon as they are released by verified sources
• Sign up for security alerts to be sent to your
mobile phone or email account so that you are
notified of changes to your account, personal
information, or suspicious activity taking place
on the account, such as unauthorized card-not-
present transactions. The most common method
for fraudsters to take over a victim’s account is by
changing the physical address.
• Avoid using unencrypted public Wi-Fi. SSL offers
little or no protection when using unencrypted Wi-Fi
hot spots.
• Be aware of impersonators. Never respond
directly to requests for personal or account
information via email, over the phone, or through
the mobile device--including SMS text message.
Your Credit Report
Your credit report may show the first signs that
someone has misused your information, so it’s
important to check your report a few times a year.
• You have the right to request a free copy of your
credit report every 12 months from each of the
three nationwide credit reporting companies.
Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call (877)
322-8228 to order your report(s) or learn more
about how you can receive your free report.
• Credit reporting companies may charge you a
fee for an additional copy of your report within a
12-month period. To buy a copy of your report,
visit Equifax.com, Experian.com or Transunion.
com.
• If you see errors on your credit report, like
accounts you didn’t open or debts you didn’t
incur, contact the credit reporting companies
and the fraud department of each business that
reported an error.
• Credit reporting companies must block identity
theft-related information from appearing on a
victim’s credit report, but you must request this
block from each of the credit bureaus.
• You may request a credit freeze on your credit
file, which means potential creditors cannot
get to your credit report. The length of time a
freeze can stay in place and the cost to place
and lift a freeze depends on state law; find your
state’s Attorney General’s office at www.naag.org
to determine applicable fees and how long the
credit freeze lasts.
Helpful Tip
Debit cards eliminate the risk of stolen checks,
but if you place a check order, request that your
checks be delivered to a Bank Independent
location near you, and we’ll contact you when
your order is available!
