Privacy
The privacy of your personal information is of the utmost importance to us. Review our Privacy Notice to understand what information we collect, how we use and protect it. Click here to read our Privacy Notice.
Security
Mascoma Bank works hard to ensure the safety and soundness of our customers’ information. We utilize the latest technological security methods to provide our customers a secure environment. We require the use of secure browsers that utilize encryption techniques to access account information and perform transactions. Secure browsers employ Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to communicate with servers. This technology encrypts—or scrambles—your account information so it’s extremely difficult for anyone other than Mascoma Bank to read it.
Customer Contact
Mascoma Bank will never contact a customer electronically to obtain customer information, or ask for anyone to call and “verify” their information. We also do not solicit account or debit card information through e-mail.
The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) has notified member banks that fraudulent emails have gone out to the general public in the State of New Hampshire asking for personal information, including bank account information.
Mascoma Bank wants to caution all of its customers to be careful in opening emails from unknown senders. If you receive an email from an address that looks like it may be from Mascoma Bank but asks for your personal information, do not respond and please call us at 888-MASCOMA (627-2662) and press option zero for a Relationship Banker.
Security Education
At Mascoma Bank, security is important to all of us. Part of security for our customers is providing them with the information and education about possible security threats. There are many different scams. We encourage our customers to ask questions of branch personnel and to immediately report suspicious activity. When a customer has knowledge of a scam, such as phishing, we want them to pass the information to their friends and family.
Digital Banking uses personal verification questions that protect you from unauthorized use of your ID and PIN. When you log into Digital Banking if our system does not recognize the computer or location from where you are logging in from, you’ll be asked to answer these questions. You will also be asked these questions if you are attempting to complete a transaction for which we need a second level of authorization.
Personal Identification Images protect you from phishing scams on the Internet by verifying that you are on our valid website. Seeing your personal image each time that you log in will let you know that you are on our website.
These features provide an extra level of security, allowing you to continue to bank online safely and securely from anywhere!
Log-In Protection
Every customer must privately maintain a combination of a password and Log-In ID. Because the customer is assigned the original password by the bank administrator, digital banking forces the customer to change the password once logged onto the system and before any transactions can be requested. This forces the customer to establish an absolutely private password. If the password is lost or forgotten the administrator will be able to reset a default password for the customer once Mascoma Bank has confirmed the customer’s identity.
Protect Your Identity
Never reveal your PIN to anyone. Never write it down where anyone can find it or figure out what it is. Change your PIN often, and be sure that you do not use common words that can be found in a dictionary, or numbers in a series. Try using birthdays combined with pet names, or sports teams combined with a birthday for example. Never access the banking site from a computer that an un-trusted individual may have access to. Treat your Online User ID and PIN with the same care that you use for your ATM or credit card PIN. In addition, make sure that no one is physically watching as you enter your PIN. Also take appropriate precautions to keep your computer free from viruses because there are some that could be used to capture your keystrokes.
Always log out of digital banking or close your browser when you have completed your banking session. All cookies used are destroyed when you shut down your browser.
You are allowed to receive a copy of your Credit Report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. To obtain your Credit Report FREE visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com
Mascoma Bank offers its customers a variety of Identity Protection Products. Provent and Mastercard Securecode are identity theft programs offered. Identity Theft Protection Programs are offered with Checking Accounts. For more information about these products, contact a Personal Banker at any of our locations.
Our server does not connect directly to the Internet
It is isolated from the network via “firewall”. All requests to the server are filtered through a router and firewall before they are permitted access to the server. A router is a piece of hardware that works in conjunction with the firewall, a piece of software, to block and direct traffic coming to the server. The router and software “firewall” define and limit access that “outside” computers have to the Mascoma Bank server. The configuration begins by disallowing ALL traffic and then opens only when necessary to process acceptable data requests, such as sending customer requests.
Scams
At Mascoma Bank we have seen all different types of scams. We have seen them involving apartment renting. Where the scammer has sent payment for a full year of renting, then asked for some of the money to be returned because something came up, usually a sick family member. Whatever payment the scammer sent was counterfeit.
We have seen all kinds of lottery scams. Folks will receive a letter stating that they have won some sort of lottery with a check. They are asked to cash the check and wire money (usually for taxes) back to the lottery Officials. The check that was sent is counterfeit.
*IT IS ILLEGAL FOR A US CITIZEN TO ENTER A FOREIGN LOTTERY*
We have seen people/customers being asked by someone to help him or her cash checks. Usually the story involves a person being outside the Country and not having access to US funds. They have asked that we help them by simply cashing some checks, money orders or Travelers checks and wiring funds to them. The payment sent is counterfeit.
We could go on and on with the different types of scams we have seen. The important thing to remember is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A common factor in most of the scams is that the bad guy will ask for the money to be wired back via Western Union or Moneygram.
Children’s Privacy
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act protects children under the age of 13 from the collection of personal information through our website without obtaining verifiable consent from parents. We do not knowingly collect or use personal information from children under 13 nor do we allow them to open online accounts.