How to stay a step ahead of fraudsters
Take these simple steps to help protect you and your family, friends and organization.
At J.P. Morgan, protecting client information is a top priority. That’s why we apply controls and procedures that help shield your accounts from fraudulent activity.
But we can’t do this alone. It’s also important for you to stay vigilant—by understanding emerging trends and taking action to protect yourself against potential breaches and exposure.
As the fraud landscape continues to evolve, we encourage all of our clients, as well as their children, parents, and extended network of friends, employees and coworkers, to take the simple action steps below to protect their information, identities and financial profiles.
To start, whether with or outside of J.P. Morgan, one of the most important precautions you can take to prevent fraud is to verbally verify all payment instructions with your beneficiary, service provider or trusted contact when you receive payment request details via email.
Top 5 things to do with J.P. Morgan
1. Create unique, complex usernames—not just passwords
Take action:
Update your J.P. Morgan OnlineSM username and password by following these simple steps:
From a computer:
- Log in to your J.P. Morgan Online account.
- Click on the “person” icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen; click “Profile & Settings,” then select “Username” under “Sign-in and Security”
- Edit your username to remove personal information and ensure it does not match your email accounts
- Review and create a strong password using the guidelines above
From the mobile app:
- Log in to your J.P. Morgan Online account
- Tap on the “person” icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen; tap “Profile & Settings,” then select “Settings,” then “Sign in Preferences”
- Edit your username to remove personal information and ensure it does not match your email accounts
- Review and create a strong password using the guidelines above
Note: Remember to review your other online accounts to ensure those login credentials are strong and unique as well.
2. Set up a secure token to further secure your online accounts
Preventing access to your online accounts is as simple as creating separate login credentials for each online platform you leverage. Remember to never save your login details into your web browser or online websites to protect against potential exposure.
As part of our multi-factor authentication, J.P. Morgan offers an RSA token—a real-time code that refreshes every minute and is only given to you. In addition to your username and password, an RSA token provides a second layer of validation when you log in to your account via J.P. Morgan Online and the J.P. Morgan Mobile app.
Contact your J.P. Morgan Client Service team to request a secure token for your online profile.
3. Enable online alerts
Turning on alerts allows you to be one step ahead of fraud. J.P. Morgan Online offers alerts that you can apply to your online profile and accounts. When enabled, these alerts notify you of potentially fraudulent transactions or account changes. For enhanced security, sign up to receive alerts both by text message and email in the event one is compromised.
Take action:
From a computer:
- Enable alerts:
- Log in to your J.P. Morgan Online account
- Click on the “person” icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen and select “Alerts”
- Select “Choose Alerts” from the menu on the left to enable the alerts; we recommend enabling both email and text form
From the mobile app:
- Enable alerts:
- Log in to your J.P. Morgan Online account
- Tap on the “person” icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen and select “Alerts”
- Select “Choose Alerts” from the menu on the left to enable the alerts; we recommend enabling both email and text formats
4. Set up paperless statements to help prevent your account information from being lost or stolen in the mail
If a check or account statement is stolen or lost, a fraudster has access to your personal information—including your name, address, bank account number and signature. When you use online bill payment systems, J.P. Morgan sends a check or an electronic payment on your behalf without disclosing your personal account number to the beneficiary.
Take action:
Enroll in Paperless Statements by contacting your Client Service team. You can also update your preferences within J.P. Morgan Online via these steps:
From a computer:
- Log in to your J.P. Morgan Online account
- Click on the “person” icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen
- Select “Account Settings > Paperless”
- Review and save your options
From the mobile app:
- Log in to your J.P. Morgan Online account.
- Tap on the “person” icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen
- Select “Account Settings > Paperless”
- Review and save your options
5. Implement money movement controls
Protect your business and personal transactions by strengthening your operational process to protect against the risk of fraud. Consider implementing controls such as dual approvals for payments, especially those destined for high-risk jurisdictions where it can be more difficult to recover funds.
Take action:
- Employ a callback process to verify payment details.
- Leverage online bill pay systems instead of writing personal checks to protect your account details.
- Contact your J.P. Morgan Client Service team to learn more about enrolling in J.P. Morgan Online. If you need assistance setting up your online bill payments, you will be connected to a dedicated Banking Personal Assistant.
- Learn how to spot red flags indicating fraudulent payment instructions, such as blurred logos, grammatical issues and requests late in the day or before holidays.
Top 5 things to do outside of J.P. Morgan
1. Protect your identity: Freeze your credit, review your credit reports periodically, and enroll in a credit monitoring service
Freezing your credit is a proactive measure against identity theft. A credit freeze—also known as a security freeze—restricts access to your credit report, making it more difficult for identity thieves to open accounts in your name and/or abuse your credit.
Take action:
- To put a security freeze on your credit, as well as to protect the accounts of your family members, call or visit the websites below:
- Equifax: 800.349.9960 | www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze.
- Experian: 888.397.3742 | www.experian.com/freeze.
- TransUnion: 888.909.8872 | www.transunion.com/freeze.
- Innovis: 800.540.2505 | https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze
- Request a copy of your report from www.annualcreditreport.com, or contact each credit bureau directly.
- Enroll in Chase Credit Journey, our free credit monitoring service through J.P. Morgan Online. For more information, go to https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/chase-credit-journey.
- Place a consumer credit report security alert with ChexSystems:
- ChexSystems: 888.478.6536 I https://www.chexsystems.com/security-freeze/place-freeze
2. Choose a reputable email provider that offers spam filtering and multi-factor authentication, and enable those features
Take action:
- Compare your provider against others
- Delete emails containing personal information—such as photos of IDs or documents saved in your email Inbox, Sent and Trash folders. Fraudsters often review the emails in your account to understand how you transact, communicate and conduct business months before they attempt to commit fraud
3. Contact your mobile service provider to proactively prevent phone porting and call forwarding
Fraudsters have begun hijacking phone numbers by tricking cell phone service providers into transferring (or porting) a victim’s phone number to a new device, or by hacking into an individual’s online account with the service provider. When this occurs, fraudsters gain access to the data ported from the original mobile device and are able to reset a victim’s passwords on every account that uses the phone number for auto recovery. They are also able to receive one-time verification codes sent to the mobile number by text, phone call or email. Equally concerning is the ease with which a phone number can be forwarded to another number.
Take action:
- Log in to your online account or call your service provider to freeze phone porting and call forwarding capabilities, and add a verbal password to your account for additional security.
4. Install anti-virus and ad-blocking software on all of your devices, and keep it up-to-date
Take action:
- Do your homework—not all software is created equal. You will want to consider software that includes multi-layered malware, spyware and adware protection. Some also offer firewall and spam filtering capabilities, as well as ransomware protection.
5. Protect your identity by limiting the amount of information shared online and on social media
Take action:
- Review your and your family’s social media privacy settings and the information a person may have access to when viewing your accounts.
- Remove personal information shared online that can be used by fraudsters in an attempt to defraud you.
Top 5 things you should never do
1. Do not assume a phone call, email or text message is genuine
Be wary of impersonators. Fraudsters use social engineering techniques to deceive you into divulging information or taking action on a financial account.
2. Do not share personal information with unknown individuals
Be mindful of the information you share with others, even in the normal course of business.
3. Do not use the same credentials and passwords for your online accounts
Consider using a password management tool.
4. Do not allow unknown individuals to access your computer remotely
Even if they claim to be from a reputable service or technology provider.
5. Do not use public Wi-Fi networks (such as those in hotels, airports and coffee shops)
Do not use without a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
By visiting a third-party site, you may be entering an unsecured website that may have a different privacy policy and security practices from J.P. Morgan standards. J.P. Morgan is not responsible for, and does not control, endorse or guarantee, any aspect of any linked third-party site. J.P. Morgan accepts no direct or consequential losses arising from the use of such sites.
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