Protect your Milford National MasterMoney & Bank 24 card when shopping online!

MasterCard SecureCode is a new service to enhance your existing MasterCard account. A private code means added protection against unauthorized use of your card when you shop at participating online merchants.
Register
Once you've registered and created your own private SecureCode, you will be automatically prompted by your financial institution at checkout to provide your SecureCode each time you make a purchase with a participating online merchant. Your SecureCode is quickly confirmed by your financial institution and then your purchase is completed. Your SecureCode will never be shared with the merchant. It's just like entering your PIN at an ATM.
Reduce Risk
When you correctly enter your SecureCode during a purchase at a participating online merchant, you confirm that you are the authorized cardholder and your purchase is then completed. If an incorrect SecureCode is entered, the purchase will not be completed. Even if someone knows your credit or debit card number, the purchase cannot be completed without your SecureCode at a participating merchant.

Check 21

A federal law, known as Check 21, makes it easier for banks to electronically transfer check images instead of physically transfer paper checks. Substitute checks are special paper copies of the front and back of your original checks that are created to replace the original check.

Because of Check 21 and other check-system improvements, your checks may be processed faster--which means money may be deducted from your checking account faster. Before you write a check, make sure that your checking account has enough money in it to cover the check. You may be one of the majority of consumers who do not receive their canceled checks with their account statements. Instead, you may receive "pictures" (known as digital images) of your checks, a list of your paid checks, or a combination of these items. Check 21 will have little or no effect on these practices. On the other hand, if you do get your canceled checks back in your regular account statements, you may notice some changes under Check 21. For example, your bank may start sending you a combination of original checks and substitute checks in your account statements. You may use a canceled substitute check as proof of payment just as you would use a canceled original check. By law, your bank may not pay a check from your account unless you authorized that payment. In other words, you are protected from having your bank pay the same check from your account more than once or from having your bank pay the wrong amount for a check. Check 21 does not change these protections.

A substitute check is a special paper copy of the front and back of an original check. The substitute check may be slightly larger than the original check. Substitute checks are specially formatted so they can be processed as if they were original checks. The front of a substitute check should state: "This is a legal copy of your check. You can use it the same way you would use the original check. Visit www.federalreserve.gov for more information regarding Check 21.

E-Mail Security Reminders

Although e-mail may be a convenient way to communicate, it is not the safest.

Do not open email attachments that are of unknown origin to you, as this is often the source of virus and worm infections that can cause serious damage to your computer. Do not include personal or financial information in an e-mail message, as unauthorized individuals can easily intercept this information to commit fraud or identity theft. Do not trust or act upon unsolicited emails that request personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, ATM PINs, social security numbers, etc.

Protect yourself from a "Phishing" scam.

Phishing is a term coined by Internet hackers who use email lures to "fish" passwords and financial data from the sea of Internet users. Email messages designed to look like they came from a merchant or financial institution are mailed to Internet users. The emails direct the recipient to update or provide information back to the company's web site by instructing the user to click on a URL embedded within the email. The embedded URL links the user to a counterfeit web site designed to look like the company's legitimate web site. Passwords and other personal information are then solicited and collected by the web site and used by the scammer to defraud the user.

Prevent Identity Theft

How can someone steal your identity? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years - and their hard-earned money - cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.

Safeguard your personal and financial information: