Important Information Regarding the Security of Your Accounts and the “Heartbleed Bug”

As you may have heard in news reports over the last several days, the “Heartbleed Bug” is a vulnerability in the encryption software that secures some web sites.  This vulnerability can result in sensitive information such as user names and passwords being exposed.

At Five Star Bank, we have confirmed that our Internet Banking and Mobile Banking services do not use the software that is vulnerable to the Heartbleed Bug.

While we have determined that our Internet Banking sites are not vulnerable, it is always a good idea to follow sound practices to protect your information.  One of the most important practices is ensuring you utilize strong passwords and that you change them frequently.  It is also a good practice to utilize a unique user ID and password for your financial sites, like Five Star Bank’s Internet Banking.  Using common ID’s and passwords at multiple web sites can expose all of your accounts should any of those sites experience a security breach. 

We take information security very seriously.  We are committed to ensuring the security of your accounts and your information.  But we need your help.  Working together, we can minimize the opportunity for fraud.  Please remember that, unless you have initiated the contact, Five Star Bank will never request your personal information (i.e. account numbers, social security number or mother’s maiden name).  Never provide your personal information in response to an unsolicited call or e-mail.  Finally, given the growing public awareness of this bug, it’s probable that phishers and other scam artists will take full advantage of the situation.  Avoid responding to emailed invitations to reset your password; rather, visit the site manually, either using a trusted bookmark or searching for the site in question.  As always, if you believe you have been a victim of fraud related to your account, please notify us immediately at 1-877-226-5578, so we can take action to help you.