Online Security Threats:

Spyware and Phishing are two methods used to gain access to your personal and account information, ultimately stealing your Identity,

Identity Theft.

To protect yourself, it is important to understand how they work, how to detect them, and how to prevent them, as well as what to do if you fall victim.

What is Spyware?

The term "spyware" describes any application that may track your online or offline PC activity. It can save or transmit those findings to third parties. Spyware is stealthy and often attaches itself to your computer without your knowledge - or appropriate consent. Many spyware programs can record keystrokes to steal your social security number, bank account information and credit card numbers.

What are the symptoms of spyware?

• Sluggish PC performance
• Frequent computer crashes
• An increase in pop-up adds
• Mysterious new tool bars you can't delete
• Unexplained changes to home page settings
• Puzzling search results
• Components of your operating system or other programs no longer work

How does spyware find me?

• Opening spam e-mail or an e-mail attachment

• Sharing photos, files or music with other users

• Visiting a media-supported web site

• Downloading free games, toolbars, screen savers, media players and other system utilities

• Installing mainstream software applications without fully reading license agreements

Customers can prevent and detect spyware by:

• Installing and periodically updating anti-spyware, virus protection and firewall software
• Increasing browser security settings
• Updating all software regularly especially your operating system and browser
• Not opening e-mail from untrustworthy sources

How can I get rid of spyware?

The most effective way to detect and safely remove spyware is -- anti-spyware software.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a new type of identity theft. Criminals create fictitious emails in an attempt to get you to give up personal or financial account information. These fraudulent emails appear to be from trusted companies, financial institutions and even government agencies. Because these criminals go to great lengths to make the phishing emails look like legitimate emails from banks or other institutions, it is important for you to recognize them.

How to Recognize a Phishing Email:

• An email includes scare tactics that lead you to believe clicking on a web site link is vital to your continued access to your financial accounts or other services.

• There is a request for sensitive information such as your password, PIN number, Social Security Number or account number. A Legitimate company will never ask you for this via email.

• The email message may contain misspelled words, poor grammar or strange formatting.

If you receive a phishing email:

Contact the institution the email claims to represent by phone. Do not respond to the suspected phishing email or go to any referenced web site within the email. If you visit these types of sites, "spyware" software can automatically be installed on your PC without your knowledge, and personal information can then easily be stolen.

Do not provide the requested information or go to any referenced web site, you may find yourself the victim of Identity theft.

You Can Fight Identity Theft - Here's How:

1. Never provide your personal information in response to an unsolicited request, whether it is over the phone or over the Internet. E-mails and Internet pages created by phishers may look exactly like the real thing. They may even have a fake padlock icon that ordinarily is used to denote a secure site. If you did not initiate the communication, you should not provide any information.

2. If you believe the contact may be legitimate, contact the financial institution yourself. You can find phone numbers and Web sites on the monthly statements you receive from your financial institution or you can look the company up in a phone book or on the Internet. The key is that you should be the one to initiate the contact, using contact information that you have verified yourself.

3. Never provide your password over the phone or in response to an unsolicited Internet request. A financial institution would never ask you to verify your account information online. Thieves armed with this information and your account number can help themselves to your savings.

4. Review account statements regularly to ensure all charges are correct. If your account statement is late in arriving, call your financial institution to find out why. If your financial institution offers electronic account access, periodically review activity online to catch suspicious activity.

Report suspicious e-mails or calls to the Federal Trade Commission through the Internet at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT.

What to do if you fall victim?

•  Contact Great Midwest Bank by calling 1-800-485-4400 immediately and alert us to the situation.
•  Monitor your account statements closely.
•  If you have disclosed sensitive information in a phishing attack, you should also contact one of the three major credit bureaus and discuss whether you need to place a fraud alert on your file, which will help prevent thieves from opening a new account in your name. Here is the contact information for each bureau's fraud division: