Protect Yourself from Email Scams

Who is 'Phishing' for Your Personal Information?
Recently, some consumers have been receiving emails that seem legitimate and request updated billing, email or personal information. These emails are designed to trick you into revealing your private information -- possibly a Social Security number, ATM PIN, bank account or credit card numbers. This practice has become known as "phishing".

To make these e-mails seem more realistic, the senders often duplicate the company logo and familiar formats or redirect to a fraudulent website. These emails are often masked under the name of a trusted source such as the FDIC, a trusted financial institution, an Internet Service Provider - or even People's United Bank.

What Should You Do if You Think You've Been Phished
If you get an e-mail that warns you that an account of yours will be shut down unless you reconfirm your billing or email information, or that the bank is "missing" information about your account, do not reply or click on the link in the e-mail. Report any suspicious activity to the company where you maintain your account and to the Federal Trade Commission, immediately. If you have mistakenly responded to a phishing email pretending to be from People's United Bank, you should notify your local branch immediately. To report a suspicious email that uses People's United Bank's name, you can forward it to abuse@peoples.com.

Recognizing Legitimate Requests from People's United Bank

• It is not our policy to use "Pop-Up" windows to collect information about your accounts.
• It is our policy not to ask you to share personal information via email.
• It is not our policy to ask for your PIN, Login User ID, Password, Social Security Number, or other confidential information via email.
• People's United will not claim we are updating our files or accounts on you via email, nor threaten that your account is in jeopardy if you do not update your account information immediately.

Tip: Verifying a People's United Bank Web Site
Here's a quick way of verifying the real address of a web site.

Cut and paste the following text into your Browser Address Bar. javascript:alert("The actual URL of this site has been verified as: " + location.protocol + "//" + location.hostname +"/");

A small pop-up will display the true web address of the page you're viewing.

Avoid Becoming a Victim
The Federal Trade Commission and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, also advise:

• Review and verify credit card and bank statements as soon as you receive them.
• Report suspicious activity through the Federal Trade Commission Web Site.
• Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages.
• Internet fraud complaints also can be filed with the FBI.

People's United is committed to protecting your personal information.
Learn more about what you can do to safeguard your online information.