Atlantic Blog

Current news headlines warn about the potential for increased cyber-attacks as tensions grow between the West and Russia. In addition, cybercriminals are sure to take advantage of the situation and use it as the base for email, text messages, or phone fraud scams.   

What you can do to protect your personal information and identity:   

1. Choose a strong password and use MFA 

Use a different, unique, and hard-to-guess password and multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. Rather than just asking for only a username and password, MFA requires one or more additional verification factors, which decreases the likelihood of a successful cyber attack. Within Atlantic’s digital banking, MFA is a feature that can be turned on in your settings. 

2. Keep anti-virus up to date, install patches on devices when available  

When your PC or smartphone advises an update is available, install it promptly – don’t wait. Updates often contain critical security patches.   

3. Use only trusted Wi-Fi resources  

Free Wi-Fi is widely available, but do not access sensitive services, like your Atlantic digital banking account, while using free Wi-Fi as it is very easy to intercept.   

4. Don’t give out personal information 

Be wary of any calls or emails where an individual is asking for your personal information. Scammers will use the current geopolitical events to scare people into giving out personal information under the guise of helping you “protect” your assets.

Always go directly to the website or account you need to protect if you need to make or check on changes. Don’t reply to emails, calls, or texts with your login or account information. You can also reduce robocalls and phone scammers with these tips. 

5. Keep an eye on your credit  

Watch out for any unusual activity on your credit report. Within Atlantic’s Digital Banking, you can keep an eye on your approximate credit score and credit report with the SavvyMoney widget for free. 

6. Stop and think before you donate 

We understand that many want to support the Ukraine cause through a donation; however, there have been multiple cases of fake accounts and charity scams on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media outlets.

Before donating, make sure you are not dealing with a cybercriminal who may be asking for the donation in bitcoin or some form of untraceable currency, like gift cards – that is a red flag that it is a scam. It’s safer to go directly to the organization’s website and donate through a secure platform.   

What is Atlantic doing? 

Atlantic’s IT staff is on high alert for anything unusual on our networks, and we are keeping up with the latest advisories for the financial industry. Keeping our networks and your data safe is a top priority, and we will continue to follow advice from trusted sources to help us maintain that goal. We will stay informed regarding the events unfolding in Ukraine.  

Stay up to date and join our email list.   

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