Cybersecurity is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days, but it’s more than just a ‘buzz word’ picked up by the media, and it’s just as big of a risk for individuals as it is for major corporations. 

In fact, thousands of people fall victim to fraudulent emails, texts, and calls from scammers every day. Many of those scams involve individuals pretending to be a bank and getting crucial/personal information that can cause huge financial issues. 

The best defense against malicious attacks is education and awareness. As October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, The Farmers Bank is participating in the American Bankers Association #BanksThatNeverAsk campaign on all of our social media platforms. We believe it is important to communicate best practices to our customers and community, so you can stay as protected as possible from the threat of scams and cyber attacks. 

Community Banking With a Capital “C”

At Farmers Bank, it’s always our goal to care, educate, and serve our communities and customers in the best ways possible. Because cyberattacks are becoming more prominent, we believe now is the time to provide further education and raise awareness. 

If you think a cyber attack couldn’t happen to you, consider that one occurs every 39 seconds. Additionally, there has been a 300% increase in these attacks since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Ransomware attacks continue to be on the rise, with over 68,000 new ransomware trojans discovered for mobile in 2019. Because many people do their banking from their phones, that raises serious concerns. We recently worked with a client who experienced a ransomware attack that shut them down for three days. Their shutdown kept them from delivering products to their customers which created a stoppage for them as well.  

Awareness of Attacks

Because of the rising risk of cybersecurity attacks, it’s more important than ever to be aware of protecting yourself. If you feel like something seems fishy, it’s often a good idea to go with your gut. And if it is too good to be true, it probably is false also.

If you do have a business and you need some cybersecurity tips, keep the following in mind: 

• Educate your employees on best data security practices
• Have all of your data backed up regularly
• Only give financial information to necessary employees
• Have a private email server and inform your workers that they should never give out information on any other platform

Our Hope for the Future of Cybersecurity

October may be National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but this is an issue that needs constant, year-round attention. That’s why we hope that the #BanksThatNeverAsk campaign will help people within our communities protect their bank accounts. 

If you’re interested in learning more about cybersecurity and specifically what questions banks won’t ask you, please follow us and this campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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Karen Gregerson is President & CEO of The Farmers Bank, a locally owned and operating bank with 10 banking offices in Central Indiana.

The Farmers Bank is a $700 million asset organization chartered in 1876 with headquarters in Frankfort, IN.  The Farmers Bank is locally owned and operated with 10 banking offices located in Central Indiana providing retail, business, investment & trust services, mortgage, and electronic banking services.  Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender