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Online Banking Security

ENCRYPTION

Your transactions and personal information are secured by encryption software that converts the information into code that is readable by only you and the bank, ensuring private communication.

PASSWORD TIPS

It is critically important that only authorized persons log into Online Banking. Your access ID and password are your unique identifier and the first line of defense. Be sure not to share them with anyone—most frauds involving hijacked accounts originate with someone the victim knows.

You are allowed to enter your password incorrectly three times. After the third attempt, you must contact us to reinitialize your account.

Security begins with a strong password, which only you should possess. Experts advise a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters to make a strong password.

Periodically change your password in the "User Option" section of Online Banking.

TO PREVENT OTHERS FROM LOGGING IN TO YOUR ACCOUNT:

Never use easy-to-guess passwords. Examples:

  • Birth dates
  • First names
  • Pet names
  • Addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Social Security numbers

ADDITIONAL SECURITY

A multi factor authentication process is included in our Online Banking. This process provides an additional layer of security to protect you from identity theft. When you enroll in Online Banking, you register your computer with the bank. In addition, you pick an authentication image and pass phrase. After entering your Access ID, the authentication image and pass phrase will appear on your computer screen. Once you have confirmed your image and pass phrase, enter your password. If the image and pass phrase do not match, immediately close the Online Banking session and begin the process again. Online Banking provides a safe and secure environment to do your banking 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

INTERNET PRIVACY AND SECURITY STATEMENTS

At American Community Bank & Trust, one of our core values is our commitment to confidentiality. We take this responsibility very seriously, and it has a profound effect on how we conduct business. We understand how important privacy is to all of our clients, which is why we are so committed to protecting and safeguarding your personal information. Whether on the internet, in our banks, at ATMs or on the phone, we keep this value at the forefront.

Our pledge to keeping your financial and personal information confidential is further explained in our Privacy Statement below, as required by federal law. As your read this, you will note that American Community Bank & Trust and American Community Wealth Management have taken the position that we do not, and will not, disclose any information about you, except as specifically permitted by law and explained in this disclosure.

INTERNET PRIVACY STATEMENT 

At American Community Bank & Trust, our commitment to keep your information private in accordance with federal privacy regulations is explained in the following policies.

We recognize your expectation of privacy and security for your personal and financial affairs. We acknowledge the need to safeguard sensitive information you have entrusted with us and have implemented standards and procedures designed to prevent the misuse of this information.

The American Community Bank & Trust websites allow you to explore information about us, learn more about our services and products, and check on career opportunities without disclosing any information about yourself.

If, however, you do provide personal information, such as a mailing address, email address, telephone or fax number, as well as demographic and other consumer identification, we will not sell or share it with any external organizations unless we have informed you, been authorized by you, or are required by law to do so. We will maintain and use this information within American Community Bank & Trust according to our strict standards for security and confidentiality.

General email is not encrypted and is not a secure delivery method. If your communication is sensitive, or includes personal information such as an account number, credit card number or social security number, please contact us and we will be able to initiate an encrypted email account for you secured by your own private password. This account, once established, may be used over and over again for encrypted communication with our bank. Regular mail and telephone faxes are also an option.

Some parts of the American Community Bank & Trust website may use a “cookie,” which is a file placed on your computer’s hard drive that allows our web server to log the pages you used in the site and to determine if you have visited the site before. The American Community Bank & Trust server uses this information to provide certain features during your visit to our website.

You can set your browser to warn you when cookie placement is requested and decide whether or not to accept it. By rejecting a cookie, some of the features available on the site may not function properly. Refer to your browser for proper instructions.

Thank you. Your business is very important to us and we have developed this privacy policy to ensure the safeguarding of your personal information with a serious commitment to confidentiality.

American Community Bank & Trust reserves the right to change this policy at any time by posting a new or updated privacy policy to its web page.

INTERNET SECURITY STATEMENT

In internet banking, as with traditional banking methods, security is a primary concern. At American Community Bank & Trust, we have taken every precaution to be sure your information is transmitted safely and securely. The latest methods in internet banking system security are used to increase and monitor the integrity and security of the system. 

The security of American Community Bank & Trust’s internet banking application is addressed at three levels. The first concern is the security of client information as it is sent from a client’s computer to the web server. The second area of concern is the security of the environment in which the internet banking server and client information database resides. 

Finally, security measures are in place to prevent unauthorized users from attempting to log into the online banking section of the website. 

Data security between the client browser and our web server is handled through a security protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which provides data encryption, server authentication, and message integrity for an internet connection. In addition, SSL provides a security “handshake” that is used to initiate the connection. This handshake results in the client and the server agreeing on the level of security they will use, and then fulfills any authentication requirements for the connection. 

Requests for online banking information are passed on from the web server to the host mainframe. To begin a session in online banking, the user must enter his or her access ID. Once submitted, the connection between the web server and the host is complete and the session is transferred. The user then enters his or her password to complete the log-in process. After three unsuccessful attempts, the system will lock the user out, requiring the client to call the bank for reactivation.

Online banking utilizes extended validation (EV) certificates. Extended validation certificates require the highest level of authentication and incorporate some of the strictest standards for identity assurance.

To let users know that a website has an EV certificate, the browser has visual cues that include the following:

  • The color green in the URL address bar
  • "https://" at the beginning of the domain name
  • A padlock in the address bar
  • The website owner’s company name in the address bar
  • Organizational information in the certificate details

American Community Bank & Trust understands the importance of keeping client information secure, and as a result, the bank has taken significant measures to ensure world-class network, data and physical security. As an additional measure of security, the bank uses private IP addressing, which protects servers from inappropriate internet access and restricts unauthorized visibility of internal components.