New Educational Resource on Internet Security
A number of government agencies and technology companies have joined forces to create an educational Web site on Internet security, online fraud and computer security called OnGuard Online. It has a ton of great and (sometimes) fun quizzes to test your knowledge on phishing, file sharing, social networks, online auctions and more. There are videos, tutorials and links to software tools with many of them available in Spanish.
We've linked to the site from our online security page:
http://www.uwcu.org/OnlineBanking/OnlineSecurity/Default.aspx
Browser Support Updated for Firefox 3
A new version of Firefox is now available. Version 3 adds a bunch of new features and improvements to page loading speed and memory usage. We've fully tested the new version with our Web site and Web Branch and have added it to our supported browsers list.
For those of you not familiar with Firefox, it is made by the Mozilla Corporation, a non-profit company based in California. Firefox was introduced in 2004 and quickly took off. It is the second most popular browser after Microsoft Internet Explorer.
For those of you still using Firefox 1 and 1.5, those versions are no longer supported by Mozilla. Now would be a great time to upgrade to make sure you aren't vulnerable to any security flaws.
Labels: help, tips, Web Branch, Web site
Two Ways to Move Money—External Transfers and Money Link
We’ve received some questions from members on how our External Transfers and Money Link services work. While both systems have similar characteristics, they do very different things.
External Transfers involve accounts you own. One is here at UW Credit Union; the other is an account you own at another bank or credit union. External Transfers lets you move funds between your accounts here at UW Credit Union and your accounts at another institution. Moving money to your UW Credit Union account is free and there is a small fee for moving money out of your UW Credit Union account. You can transfer up to $2,000 each day and up to $5,000 each month. The funds take 3-4 business days to transfer. However, a one-day transfer option is available for a $10 fee. We are also working on increasing the daily and monthly limits for these transfers—more on that soon.
To get started with External Transfers, just login to Web Branch and go to the “Transfers & Payments” tab and choose “My External Accounts.”
Money Link is a way for anyone to send money to a UW Credit Union member. This system involves your UW Credit Union account and an account owned by someone else either at UW Credit Union or at any other financial institution in the country. This system is similar to PayPal, but it’s completely free.
To get started using Money Link, you need to invite someone to pay you. Perhaps someone owes you for lunch, or you share household bills and need an easy way to collect from your roommates. Maybe you’re in school and you’d like an easy way for your parents to send you money. Money Link is perfect for all of these situations and many more. To invite someone, login to Web Branch and go to the “Transfers & Payments” tab. Click on the Money Link logo and choose “Create a New Money Link.” From there all you need to do is enter the person’s name and e-mail address. They’ll get an e-mail from us and the system will guide them through the process. If the person you invited is a UW Credit Union member, they can connect one of their UW Credit Union accounts and transfer money to you immediately. If that person is not a member, they’ll have to go through a few additional steps to set up their account at another bank or credit union. Those transfers take 3-4 business days to be completed.
We hope you’ll find these services useful and a way to make your financial life even easier.
Labels: External Transfers, feedback, help, Money Link, Web Branch
What is a Security Phrase?
The security phrase feature has been part of Web Branch and Web Alerts since 2003. However, we still hear from members from time to time who are confused with how the security phrase works. I'd like to address what the security phrase is and how it protects you and your accounts from fraud.
The security phrase is not a password. You should not include private information in your security phrase like your Social Security Number or mother's maiden name. In fact, it should not be just one word, it should be a phrase. I like to use some of my favorite song lyrics. Other good phrases might be a list of your favorite movies or books, kids' names, or famous quotes. The best security phrase is something you'll immediately recognize as being something you wrote.
We put your security phrase in every automated e-mail we send. E-mail is not secure (it is transmitted as text over the Internet and could be intercepted and read). That's why you should not include anything private in your phrase.
By including your security phrase in e-mails, you can be sure they are from UW Credit Union. With phishing and other types of e-mail fraud, scammers send thousands of e-mails hoping they reach customers who might fall for the scam. However, in their spam, they'd never be able to customize the message to include your security phrase. This means that as long as you recognize your phrase in an e-mail from UW Credit Union, you can be comfortable knowing it is legitimate.
If you're a Web Alerts user with a good security phrase, no action is required. You can continue to use Web Alerts comfortably and confidently. If you use Web Alerts and don't have a security phrase or are using a password or other private information in your phrase, please create or change your phrase immediately. This is easily done by clicking on the Update Security Phrase link in any Web Alert or by logging into Web Branch and going to the My Profile & Services tab.
Labels: feedback, help, tips, Web Branch
