The widespread use of the Internet has resulted in the increasing prevalence of online scams. Many of these scams appear as emails from a financial institution (bank), government agency, or other well-known/reputable entity designed to trick consumers into revealing private information. This scam is called “phishing,” and the number of victims is on the rise. You don’t have to be one of them. Here’s our pledge:

We will never:

• Send e-mail that requires you to enter personal information directly into the e-mail
• Send e-mail threatening to close your account if you do not take the immediate action of providing personal information
• Send e-mail asking you to reply by sending personal information
• Send e-mail asking you to enter your User ID, password or account numbers into an e-mail or non-secure webpage

Appearances are meant to be deceiving. If you didn’t know better, you could be fooled.

Don’t reply, click or enter any information if you receive a suspicious e-mail. Keep the e-mail in your inbox and report it to us at idprotection@bridgeviewbank.com. We may ask you to forward it to us so we can investigate the matter.

You can also report it to us by calling customer care at 1-800-794-2040.

If you would like to learn more about identity theft, and how it could impact your financial situation and credit rating, please read and/or print this downloadable brochure, compliments of Bridgeview Bank Group and America's Community Bankers.

For more information contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at www.fdic.gov.

For warning signs and tips on telemarketing fraud, go to www.fbi.gov.