At American National Bank & Trust, the security of customer information is a priority.  We are strongly committed to the safety and confidentiality of your records.  Every day, unscrupulous individuals are busy developing new scams targeting the unsuspecting public.  One of the best ways to avoid fraud is to become an educated consumer.

• Watch out for copycat Web sites that deliberately use a name or Web address very similar to, but not the same as the real one.  The intent is to lure you into clicking through to their Web site and giving out your personal information, such as a bank account number, credit card number or Online Banking login information.

• Always use your pre-established links to access Web sites and avoid clicking on links in unsolicited e-mails.  If you ever receive a suspicious e-mail representing itself as American National Bank, please forward the message in its entirety to csr@amnat.com.

• Ensure that your own personal computer has updated anti-virus and firewall protections.  Apply security patches for all of your programs and operating systems regularly.

• Passwords should be unique to you and changed regularly.  Do not use birthdays or other numbers or words that may be easy for others to guess.  Never write down your password or give it to another person.  Use a password that is at least 8 characters long and that includes numbers, letters (a mix of both uppercase and lowercase), and special characters.

• When using ATM cards or Telephone Banking, choose a good PIN and protect it from disclosure.  Don’t use a string of numbers like 1234 or 1111.  Avoid your birth year, the last four digits of your Social Security number, your phone number, the birthdate of a child or grandchild, or the street or apartment number of your home.  Instead, use sequences from a childhood phone number or a long-unused company ID, as long as it’s no longer listed anywhere.  Also consider numbers that you dial frequently but that is hard to trace to you, like a pizza place.  Also, consider PIN-izing a momentous event in your personal history, such as the date you bowled a perfect game or hit a hole-in-one.  Never carry a reminder in your wallet or purse.  At the ATM use your other hand to shield your PIN from prying eyes or scammer-installed hidden cameras.

• Monitor your account activity frequently using our free Online and Mobile Banking services.

• Sign up for free Online Banking eStatements to avoid having your paper statement sitting in an unsecured mailbox where it could be compromised.

• Please keep in mind that we will never ask for, email or text you requesting your online banking password.  We may on occasion call to verify other information regarding your online activity should we see something of concern in your login patterns.

In case of errors or questions about your electronic transfers, call or write us at the telephone number or address listed, as soon as you can, if you think your statement or receipt is wrong or if you need more information about a transfer listed on the statement or receipt.  We must hear from you no later than 60 days after we sent the FIRST statement on which the problem or error appeared.

For personal accounts, limitations on your liability for unauthorized electronic funds transfers and other electronic errors that are covered by Regulation E are explained in the EFT Disclosure Statement in our Consumer Terms and Conditions brochure.  However, if you use online services for any business activity, you assume all risk of loss for unauthorized transfers and payments, and you must establish your own internal security procedures for employees you authorize to prevent all unauthorized use by other employees or persons.