In order to serve you better and keep your financial information safe, Cadence Bank has put together some tips for noticing questionable and fraudulent emails and how to protect yourself from fraud.

How to notice fraudulent emails:

• Requests for personal information. Cadence Bank will never email you to request any personal or sensitive information, such as your PIN, social security number, or account numbers.
• Offers that sound too good to be true. If you receive an email asking you to fill out a survey in exchange for monetary rewards, and all you need to do is provide your financial information to receive payment, delete it. If the offer sounds too good to be true, more than likely, it is.
• Odd capitalization, poor grammar, and/or typos. Often, you can tell immediately if an email is questionable due to typographical errors. Also, look for other errors, such as incomplete sentences, awkward writing (i.e., “u$ername” or “acc0ount number”), and/or poor visual design within the email).
• Urgent appeals. Cadence Bank will never claim your account may be closed if you do not confirm or verify your personal and sensitive information via email.
• Links that seem to be Cadence Bank links but are not. Look closely at links and website addresses sent in emails. When you hover over the link, make sure it’s going to the correct address. Just because “Cadence Bank” is in the URL does not mean it is official or part of our website. (NOTE: Look at the URL above to see what our official name looks like.
• The email has a generic greeting. If you receive an email that starts with “Dear Valued Customer,” it’s likely from a company or franchise you don’t normally do business with. If you are interested, it may be a better option to visit the business’s website to learn more about the products or services offered rather than follow an email link.
• Attachments on emails you don’t recognize. If you don’t recognize the email sender, don’t open any attachment or click on any link. In some instances, these attachments or links are a source of viruses, malware or other malicious software.
• Charitable requests. Check the validity of charitable organizations requesting donations in any email you receive.

How to protect yourself when you use email:

• Never reply to email messages asking for personal information.
• Know how your financial institution and other companies conduct business (what format they’ll use, what they’ll ask, etc.).
• If an email, attachment or link looks suspicious, do not open it or click on it. Safely research it in other browsers for the product, sale, and information. When in doubt, check the website.
• Use strong passwords for your email account(s) and change them often.
• Never send personally identifiable information via email (logins, social security number, account numbers, etc.). It is not secure, and if intercepted between A and B, your information could become compromised.

The following is an example of a fraudulent email:

From: [email protected]

Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2013 6:33 AM

Subject: Cadence Bank - Your Password Expired Dear Customer:

This message concerns your online banking user password that has expired. Set up a new user password by following these steps:

1. Log into your online banking by our secure link for Expired Passwords and enter the temporary password below. Your temporary password is nb42xStg756bnk.
2. You will then be prompted to change your password.

IMPORTANT: Cadence Bank will never ask you to provide or update your personal financial information by email.

How Cadence Bank protects you online:

• Secure Access to Account Information. All customers are required to enter a username and password to access mobile banking for the first time. Once logged in, you can enroll in facial or touch ID recognition. We have a secure verification process in place to ensure only you have access to your accounts.
• Certificate of Validation. Cadence Bank uses encryption technology to protect the “communication” between you and your accounts when you use online banking. This extra layer of security protects your personal and account information from intrusion.
• Privacy Protection. We adhere strictly to our Cadence Bank Customer Agreement and Disclosure Statement for Online Banking Services, which outlines our standards for protecting your financial and personal information.
• Regularly Tested. We regularly test (both automated and manually) our systems to ensure they are safe and secure.

How you can protect yourself online:

• Review your Cadence Bank accounts regularly and report any unauthorized activity immediately at (888) 797-7711.
• Guard your username and password for online banking – don’t share this information with anyone else.
• Set up online banking alerts for a variety of transactions or activities on your account(s).
• Create passwords using uncommon information – avoid identifiable passwords that include your birthdate, social security number, mother’s maiden name, or even the names of your children or grandchildren.
• Change your password regularly for any online account you use, including online banking.
• Use a secure payment system for online or in-person shopping, such as a mobile wallet.
• Enable screen locks and/or set passwords to prevent others from using your computer or devices when you’re not there – don’t use the same PIN or password on every device.
• Do not send sensitive information via email.
• Always log out of online banking after using it.
• Regularly clear your cache and browser history so payment details, passwords and other saved information are deleted.
• Keep all your computer systems updated, including anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, anti-malware software, firewalls, browsers operating systems and security updates.
• Only shop online at secure sites – a padlock symbol and “https” should appear in the website address.
• Do not use public computers or Wi-Fi to make financial transactions.

We know you're always on-the-go, and we’re committed to protecting you from fraud, 24/7. Know how to protect yourself while on your mobile device, no matter where you are.

How Cadence Bank protects you when using a mobile device:

• Secure Access to Account Information. All customers are required to enter a username and password to access mobile banking for the first time. Once logged in, you can enroll in facial or touch ID recognition. We have a secure verification process in place to ensure only you have access to your accounts.
• Certificate of Validation. Cadence Bank uses encryption technology to protect the “communication” between you and your accounts using your mobile device. This extra layer of security helps protect your personal and account information from intrusion.
• Privacy Protection. We adhere strictly to our Cadence Bank Customer Agreement and Disclosure Statement for Online Banking Services, which outlines our standards for protecting your financial and personal information.
• No Information Storage. We do not allow the storage of “secret” information on any mobile device.
• Regularly Tested. We regularly test (both automated and manually) our systems to ensure they are safe and secure.

How you can protect your mobile device:

• Read the privacy policy prior to downloading an app on your phone. Consider what you know about who created it and what it does. Some apps may be able to access your phone and email contacts, call logs, Internet data, calendar data, data about the device’s location, the device’s unique IDs, and information about how you use the app itself.
• Download any security patch updates and anti-virus software on your phone as often as necessary – you want to make sure you have the most updated software version on your phone.
• Secure your phone and SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card with a password and set your phone to automatically lock when you are not using it.
• Delete any text messages you receive from Cadence Bank once you’ve read them.
• Delete your browsing history and other old information regularly.
• Don’t set your phone settings to “auto-fill” User IDs and password information. While it may be more convenient, it is not necessarily safe to do so.
• Never send your personal information or online banking credentials by email or text.
• Avoid entering personal information on websites that do not have the security symbol or “https” in the website address.
• Avoid banking or shopping online using an unsecured, public Wi-Fi network.
• After writing down your mobile device's make, model, and serial number, do not store that information in a public area.

IMPORTANT: Do not respond to text messages that ask for personal or financial information. Cadence Bank will never ask for this information via text message. If you receive a text message asking for this information from someone claiming to be from Cadence Bank, please call us immediately at (888) 797-7711.

The following is an example of a fraudulent text message:

Cadence Bank ALERT:
Your CARD starting with 1234 has been DEACTIVATED. Please call XXX-XXX-XXXX.