Con artists have devised clever ways to trick people into revealing personal information online, including schemes known as "phishing" and "pharming." Precautions taken by Firstrade - and you - can help keep your information secure.

Phishing

Phishing, also known as "spoofing", is an increasingly popular scam designed to gather personal information, such as Social Security numbers and passwords, to access victims' accounts. A phishing attack often appears as an unsolicited, but authentic looking, e-mail that may threaten to close your account unless you verify some information. Although the links in the message may look like your financial institution's website address, they point to a fake website that gathers the information you enter. Criminals then use that information to steal a person's identity. Firstrade would never ask you to disclose any account information or personal information in an unsolicited email.

Pharming

Pharming refers to a technique of changing Domain Name System (DNS) servers. In such attacks, website names (such as www.firstrade.com) point to an attacker's numeric Internet address (the "IP address") instead of to the IP address of a Firstrade server. Successful DNS attacks are less common than they were a few years ago; however, it's possible for an attack to be temporarily successful against poorly protected DNS servers.

To guard against pharming, Firstrade webpages that display your account information, or allow you to make changes, use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. SSL webpages start with "https://" instead of "http://". One of the advantages of SSL is that your Web browser verifies the identity of the server. If an attacker successfully changed a DNS entry so that a secure Firstrade.com address brought you to an attacker's site that looked like Firstrade.com, your browser would display a warning. The warning would say the name on the certificate does not match the name of the site. If you encounter a similar message, don't access the page. Immediately contact Firstrade Technical Support Services at 800-869-8800 for assistance.

You can get more information on identity theft and fraud at the Department of Justice website.
(http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/)

Taking Precautions

As you conduct business online, taking a few simple precautions can go a long way toward protecting your personal information.

• Verify website security. Make sure the website has the proper encryption by first verifying that the Web address (URL) begins with https://. Then mouse-over the padlock image (depending on your browser) in your Web browser window to show the security. You can also double-click the image to get additional information on SSL security.
• Be wary of unsolicited e-mail. Phishers send e-mails that look like they're from legitimate companies. These e-mails typically include typos and other mistakes, terms the company may not use, or e-mail addresses that look different than ones the company uses. Internet scams often use scare tactics to get people to respond immediately. If you suspect an e-mail is fraudulent, don't reply to the e-mail, click any links within the e-mail, or open any attachments.
• Take caution when using public computers (including libraries, internet cafes, and schools) or shared ones, such as home computers. You don't know what may have been installed on the computer. Public computers are traditionally on open networks and can be susceptible to monitoring without your knowledge.
• Use wireless technology safely. If you have a wireless network at home, make sure to follow manufacturer's guidelines to secure your network. If you're not sure how, contact the manufacturer for assistance. And don't check your accounts over a public wireless Internet connection.
• Vary answers to security questions. Use caution when you select your Firstrade security question and answer, as some information about you is readily available. An alternative is to answer the security question with a unique response or code word. If you choose this option, make sure you'll remember your answer.
• Open all Firstrade envelopes in a timely manner. We provide clerical confirmations through U.S. mail for Internet transactions. If you have any questions about a confirmation statement, contact us immediately.
• Update your software. Older computers are harder to protect. PCs running Windows 95/98 operating systems don't receive security software updates and have difficulty operating newer software, therefore increasing their vulnerability to hackers.
• Close your browser. Firstrade recommends that you close your Web browser after accessing your account information online. Some of your account information can stay in your browser's memory until the browser is closed.
• Review your credit report. Review your credit report every four to six months for unauthorized activity. Go to annualcreditreport.com (www.annualcreditreport.com) to receive your free credit report or call 877-322-8228. You can also contact any of the following credit reporting agencies.
  • Equifax (www.equifax.com) 800-685-1111
  • Experian (www.experian.com) 888-397-3742
  • TransUnion (www.transunion.com) 800-916-8800