Nationwide Bank® E-Mail Fraud Protection
E-mail is a useful and timesaving method for communicating and transacting in financial services, but it is also subject to fraudulent use. It is a popular method for distributing fraudulent messages to potential victims. Each year, companies and individuals lose hundreds of millions of dollars from this criminal practice. However, there are ways to help you and your company recognize it and avoid becoming a victim.
Phishing
One of the latest techniques used by identity thieves is a process referred to as "phishing." Phishing is a scheme that involves sending e-mail messages to a variety of individuals, luring them to fraudulent websites in an attempt to obtain the individual's sensitive. The e-mails are always unsolicited and may appear to be from a legitimate financial institution or company.
Protect yourself from fraud
- Never disclose sensitive information in e-mail messages. This includes account numbers, credit card numbers, usernames, passwords, PINs, driver's license numbers and Social Security numbers.
- Don't reply to unsolicited e-mails that appear to originate from Nationwide Bank. If you have questions about your Nationwide account, please login using the secure online message Safekeys center.
- Update your password on a regular basis and never divulge it to anyone. Many information security experts recommend that you change your passwords at least every 60 days.
- Be wary of e-mail requests asking you to verify or reconfirm confidential personal information. In many fraudulent e-mail cases, the e-mail address of the sender appears genuine (e.g. support@nationwide.com), as do the design and graphics.
- If you suspect that you may have provided confidential information to a fraudulent website, it's important to change your password immediately, monitor your account activity frequently and report any suspicious activity to Nationwide Bank. To change your password, please call 1-877-I Bank NWSM (1-877-422-6569), Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET to speak to a Customer Care Representative.
- Never open e-mails or attachments that come from an unrecognized source. Delete both the e-mail and the attachment, as it may contain a virus or malicious program. We also encourage you to use and maintain the most updated anti-virus software.
- Consider contacting contact credit reporting services and have a fraud alert attached to your credit report file.
- If you received a suspicious Nationwide e-mail, please call us immediately at 1-877-I Bank NWSM (1-877-422-6569) for instructions. You can also report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/idtheft.
