January 28th is National Data Privacy Day, when many organizations and government agencies, including the FTC, join together to raise awareness about privacy issues and to offer tips and information. As more and more of our devices are connected and share information about us, privacy is increasingly important.

There are things you can do to help protect your privacy and limit how you share your information with others. National Data Privacy Day is the perfect time to review some of those steps you can take:

1. Know what’s on your device. Do an inventory of all the applications that are on your devices. Consider deleting what you don’t use.
2. Check the privacy settings. It’s a good idea to check the privacy settings of apps, devices, and online accounts periodically. You could, for example, review privacy settings when you get a notice from a company telling you that their privacy policies have changed.
3. Make sure any software and applications are up to date. This includes your apps, web browsers, and operating systems. Set updates to happen automatically.
4. Check the security of your home router. Make sure you’re using a router that has WPA2 or WPA3 encryption to protect the information you share over your wireless network. Public Wi-Fi is not secure, so take precautions if you need to use a public Wi-Fi hotspot.

Check out the FTC’s resources on privacy and online security for more tips and information. You can also follow the conversation on social media by searching the hashtag #DataPrivacyDay.

If you own a business, you can find information on how to protect your customers’ and employees’ privacy in this blog series.

Country Bank announced a $25,000 donation to the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation (QVCDC) to support various programs to help local communities in the region.

A portion of the donation will be used towards a matching grant for a senior citizen outreach program. This project was funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development, Massachusetts CDBG Program. Projects are developed and administered by local officials with the assistance of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC). Services for the outreach program include grocery shopping and prescription pick-ups for low-income seniors in Ware, Hardwick, and Warren. “Seniors with underlying medical conditions can significantly impact their ability to get out safely to meet their everyday needs. The deliveries allow them to remain safely at home while addressing their critical needs,” stated Jodie Gerulaitis, Vice President of Community Relations at Country Bank.

“The Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation is very grateful to Country Bank for this generous donation,” stated Melissa Fales, QVCDC Associate Executive Director. “This money will go towards the programs we know are making a difference for people in the Quaboag Valley. It will help us continue to do the things we are already doing every day; creating jobs through our small business loan program, business development services, delivering groceries and prescriptions to elders through the Senior Outreach Program, navigating the application process for people in need of emergency rental assistance and giving people rides to work on the Quaboag Connector. This donation from Country Bank will help us continue to provide services that support both the health of individuals and the health of the business economy in our communities.”

To learn more about the various support programs the QVCDC offers, visit www.QVCDC.org.

Click here to read the Business West Article.

Every day, thousands of people fall for fraudulent emails, texts, and calls from scammers pretending to be a bank. These are commonly referred to as phishing scams and victims can lose hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

Phishing is when you get emails, texts, or calls that seem to be from companies or people you know, but they’re actually from scammers. They want you to click on a link or share personal information (like a password or social security number) so that they can use that information to steal your money and/or identity.

The Bait

• Scammers use familiar company names or pretend to be someone you know. They send a text or ‘spoofed’ email or even call you in a way that makes it appear to be from a friend, family member, or an employee of a trusted organization like your bank, credit card company, government agency or phone company.
• The bait may look and sound like a legitimate request. The scammers might even have personal information about you, like your date of birth or password.
• They often say they need your information now, to protect your account, to help a loved one in trouble, or to confirm login or password information and warn that something bad will happen if you do not act immediately.
• They ask you to give sensitive information like passwords or bank account numbers or they ask you to click on a link. If you click on the link, they can install malicious programs that can lock you out of your computer or enable them to gain access to use your personal or financial information, even from outside of the country.

Avoid the Hook

• Take a few minutes to check a request out. You wouldn’t give your house keys to someone you don’t know or trust. Don’t give someone the keys to your bank account before you know who that person is and are certain that person can be trusted.
• If someone calls asking for information or wants you to act, tell the caller you will call back, then call the number on your billing statement or credit card to report the call, or visit your local branch. If the caller tries to convince you to stay on the phone, it’s a scam. Hang-up and call the trusted number.
• If it’s an email, don’t click on it. Go to the company’s website using a bookmark or type it in and check for alerts on your account.
• If you’re unsure, ask a friend, coworker, family member, or caregiver to help.

Look for Scam Tip-Offs

• You don’t have an account with the company.
• The email, text or caller is asking for account information, including passwords.
• Grammatical errors or something just seems fishy or not right.

Protect Yourself

• Keep your computer and mobile device security software up to date and regularly back up your data.
• Change your security settings to enable multi-factor authentication—a second step to verify who you are, like a text with a code—for accounts that support it.
• Change any compromised passwords right away and do not reuse those passwords for other accounts.
• Use a cloud-based account such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive that can allow you to restore your data if your computer is comprised.
• Don’t provide any information to anyone who calls or emails you out of the blue. Only do it if you’ve called or emailed them.
• Stay current on scams, check out the FTC’s Scam Site.

Country Bank recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by BusinessWest to discuss how banks are navigating during unpredictable economic tides. To read this article, please click here