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Security Insights with First United Bank & Trust

Avoid Financial Fraud and Identity Theft

Avoid Financial Fraud and Identity Theft

Criminals are constantly inventing new ways to obtain personal information. Increasing your awareness of their tactics, protecting your personal information, and monitoring your financial accounts and credit report are effective steps to avoiding fraud.

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Can You Spot a Phishing Scam?

Can You Spot a Phishing Scam?

Online scams aren’t so scary when you know what to look for. And at First United, we’re committed to helping you spot them as an extra layer of protection for your account.

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Newest Phishing Scheme

Newest Phishing Scheme

Scammers have their sights aimed straight at you. That’s right – the money transfer service has quickly become the preferred method of thieves everywhere looking for instant gratification.

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Phone Scams on the Rise

Phone Scams on the Rise

Every day, fraudsters are increasing their efforts to acquire account information. At First United, we have a strong commitment to keeping your personal information secure.

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Follow These 6 Cyber Security Tips to Protect Yourself Online

Follow These 6 Cyber Security Tips to Protect Yourself Online

All of us use the internet for pretty much everything we do today, and more of our devices and appliances are connected to the internet than ever before. That’s a lot of data that needs to be protected — and a lot of data that could potentially be vulnerable to hackers. To protect your data online, start by following these tips.

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SolarWinds Vulnerabilities Update

SolarWinds Vulnerabilities Update

It has been widely reported that SolarWinds Orion systems have identified vulnerabilities disclosed on Sunday, Dec. 13. These vulnerabilities exploit update mechanisms of the SolarWinds system in order to distribute malware to SolarWinds’ clients. Click to read the response from First United.

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Online Dating Scams

Online Dating Scams

Online dating scams are becoming more and more prevalent and can play with your emotions to target your wallet. Review the helpful infographic below from the ABA to see best practices to avoid this type of scam.

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CISA Cyber Essentials Toolkit

CISA Cyber Essentials Toolkit

The Cysbersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) launched a toolkit! The toolkit contains modules which break down Cyber Essentials into bite-sized actions. Each module is will aid IT and C-suite leadership work toward full implementation of each Cyber...

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What Matters Most – Cybersecurity with Joyce Flinn

What Matters Most – Cybersecurity with Joyce Flinn

In this week’s episode, Joyce Flinn, Vice President, Information Security & Disaster Recovery Officer at First United joins us to discuss best practices to staying safe and secure from cyber threats during the pandemic, when security threats have risen fourfold.

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Helping You Fight Fraud

Helping You Fight Fraud

Digital fraudsters have developed COVID-related scams to take advantage of consumers during this very challenging time. Be cautious and follow these tips to keep yourself and your finances safe and secure.

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What Matters Most Podcast – Fraud & Identity Theft Prevention

What Matters Most Podcast – Fraud & Identity Theft Prevention

Please note that this episode was recorded in the weeks prior to the pandemic. However, new fraud attempts are on the rise related to this crisis, we encourage individuals and businesses to remain vigilant and contact your financial institution if you are uncertain of a request for your information or for money. In this episode, we discuss fraud and identity theft on a broad scale with Eric Goff and Jennifer Kreighbaum from the First United Compliance and Fraud Department.

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Phone Scam Concerns

Phone Scam Concerns

Every day, fraudsters are increasing their efforts to acquire account information. At First United, we have a strong commitment to keeping your personal information secure.

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Be Cautious – Watch for Scams this season!

Be Cautious – Watch for Scams this season!

The security of your personal information is important to us, especially during this holiday season. Large amounts of electronic transactions and notifications occur this time of year, increasing fraudulent activity. Awareness should be at a...

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Staying alert is the best defense against fraud

Staying alert is the best defense against fraud

The best way to prevent fraud is to stay informed, aware, and on top of your finances. The nature of fraud is to deceive, so it’s often difficult to recognize when you’ve gotten involved in a fraudulent situation.

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Jennifer Kreighbaum Earns the CAFP Designation

Jennifer Kreighbaum Earns the CAFP Designation

Congratulations to Jennifer Kreighbaum, Assistant Compliance Officer & Community Reinvestment Officer, on earning the Certified Anti-Money Laundering and Fraud Professional (CAFP) designation! This designation demonstrates a person’s ability to assess,...

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Staying Safe from Tax Scams

Staying Safe from Tax Scams

As people seek to file their tax returns this year, cybercriminals will be busy trying to take advantage of this with a variety of scams. Citizens may learn they are victims only after having a legitimate tax return rejected because scammers already fraudulently filed...

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Money Mule Awareness Resource for Consumers from the ABA

Money Mule Awareness Resource for Consumers from the ABA

The FBI last month released an informational booklet to raise consumers’ awareness of money mule scams, how they may be recruited to serve as mules, and the possible consequences should they be involved in such a scam. The booklet, Money Mule Awareness, identifies...

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Extortion Scam Alert

Extortion Scam Alert

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh is warning consumers of an increase in reports of extortion scams, in which thieves are using email to threaten victims into paying a ransom to prevent certain personal information from being circulated online.

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REDUCE YOUR RISK OF CHECK FRAUD

REDUCE YOUR RISK OF CHECK FRAUD

It is widely believed that businesses are the primary targets of check fraud professionals – especially by organized rings of criminals. As far as counterfeiting and alteration, payroll checks appear to be a favorite although all forms of business checks are targets...

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FBI Warns of NEW Malware Threat

FBI Warns of NEW Malware Threat

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning that a new malware threat has rapidly infected more than half-a-million consumer devices. The FBI and security firms are urging home Internet users to reboot routers and network-attached storage devices made by a...

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Mobile Deposit Scams

Mobile Deposit Scams

Scammers are using a multi-pronged approach involving social engineering and legitimate mobile banking apps to leave victims holding the bag when it comes to pilfering funds. It works like this: someone approaches the victim-to-be via social media or other contact...

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The Equifax Data Breach: What We Know

The Equifax Data Breach: What We Know

Who is Equifax?  Equifax is a credit bureau, not a bank. - Equifax is one of three major credit reporting agencies and handles the data of 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide. On Sept. 7, Equifax announced that the records...

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The Equifax Data Breach: What to Do

The Equifax Data Breach: What to Do

September 8, 2017 by Seena Gressin, Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC If you have a credit report, there’s a good chance that you’re one of the 143 million American consumers whose sensitive personal information was exposed in a...

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Security Tips to Remember

Security Tips to Remember

Security Tips to Remember It is a best practice to never give out personal information in response to an unsolicited call or email. There are fraudsters who will use our public information to try to attain personal information from you. Unless you initiate the contact...

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Tips to Avoid Number Spoofing

Tips to Avoid Number Spoofing

Each year, consumers and businesses fall victim to all kinds of cybercrimes ranging from ID theft to skimming to computer hacking.  The latest scam used by criminals is referred to as “number spoofing”.  This is illegal.  The criminal clones a phone number and makes...

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Should you switch to the cloud?

Should you switch to the cloud?

The cloud provides a place for users to store their files, from Word documents to graphics, online. However, it’s not ideal for everyone, so it’s important to consider your choices.

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Protect your company from hackers

Protect your company from hackers

With an ever-growing technological world, protecting both your company’s and your clients’ information is of the utmost importance. While not every method is foolproof, there are ways that will help you keep your data safe.

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Protecting yourself from fraud

Protecting yourself from fraud

In today’s technological world, all of our information is stored online or on a card. By taking proper precautions, you can protect yourself from fraud.

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5 tips for ensuring data security

5 tips for ensuring data security

Often times it can be difficult for small business owners to think about data security in the midst of everything else going on, but forgetting about it can be a big mistake.

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Many employees cavalier about password security

Many employees cavalier about password security

The Internet has opened up many opportunities for consumers and businesses large and small. At one time, the only way workers could “check in” at their workplace was by actually being on site. Thanks to the web, however, millions of employees are able to work from the comfort of home, freeing up their schedules and reducing overhead costs for employers.

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Making better money choices for security’s sake

Making better money choices for security’s sake

The modern information landscape invites people to go online, share their most intimate thoughts, put up pictures of the places they go and what they do there, but this environment may not be a good one for a financial plan.

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