Security Center
E-Mail Fraud (Phishing)
Unless the correspondence was initiated by you, Armed Forces Bank of California will NEVER ask you for personal information via e-mail or lead you to a "verification" page.

If you have entered personal information in response to suspicious e-mail, pop-up window, or phony web site claiming to be affiliated with Armed Forces Bank of California, call the Customer Service at 1-888-715-8282 immediately (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).
Please forward suspicious e-mail to our abuse mailboxNOTE: Unrelated e-mails will
be deleted without reading. and then delete it.
Forward only those e-mails that claim to be affiliated with Armed Forces Bank of California.
Please don't use this mailbox for conducting other business with the bank.
Optional:  please complete the fraud/phishing report form if you'd like to give us an option to follow-up with you about the incident.


HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM E-MAIL FRAUD

At Armed Forces Bank of California, the security of your accounts and personal information is our top priority. Recently, the Federal Trade Commission has warned consumers about fraudulent e-mails, pop-up advertisements, and phony web sites that attempt to trick people into providing confidential personal information.

Fraudulent e-mail activity is increasing. These e-mails may appear to be from Armed Forces Bank of California. Armed Forces Bank of California will never send an e-mail with the greeting "Dear Armed Forces Bank of California User" or "Dear Armed Forces Bank of California Member". You are often asked to validate or confirm your personal information by sending a reply, clicking on a link, or opening an attachment. These messages can contain viruses, known as "Trojan horse" programs, designed to record your keystrokes. These e-mails can also direct you to a counterfeit web site that appears to be genuine.

HOW SCAMMERS OBTAIN YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS

Many scammers randomly generate e-mail addresses - that's why you may have received fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from banks you do not have an account with. They also purchase mailing lists, obtain e-mail addresses online from web pages, chat rooms, online auctions and directories or from illegitimate sources.

Armed Forces Bank of California will never trade, rent or sell your personal information - including e-mail addresses - to anyone. For more information on our privacy policy, visit our Privacy section.

If you suspect you have been taken advantage of by e-mail fraud:

AVOID E-MAIL FRAUD

With a few simple steps, you can help protect your Armed Forces Bank of California accounts and personal information from fraudulent activity:
  • Don't trust e-mail headers, which can be easily forged.

  • Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages. You can't know with certainty where the data will be sent and the information can make several stops on the way to the recipient. Instead, contact the company cited in the e-mail using a telephone number or by visiting a web site you know to be genuine or choosing one from your "favorites" list.

  • If you want to do business online, don't click on an e-mail link. Go to the company's web site yourself and fill out information there.

  • Always sign off from web sites or secure areas of web sites (for example, online banking) for which you use an ID and password to enter.

  • Make sure the security features of your computer software, including your web browser, are up-to-date (see "web browsers"). Software companies provide security updates to their products on an ongoing basis. To learn more about keeping your computer security current, get tips and information from the National Cyber Security Alliance.

  • Look beyond the logo. To make fraudulent e-mails or web sites appear real, scammers often include actual logos and images of legitimate companies. They also convey a sense of urgency, stating that if you fail to provide, update or verify your personal or account information, access to your accounts will be suspended. It's important that you look beyond the logo and not give out your information.

  • Type, don't click. Even if you do open a suspicious e-mail, don't click on any links. By clicking on the links you could unknowingly download a virus or spyware to your computer. Even if you think the e-mail is legitimate, type web addresses into your browser instead of clicking on links. If the e-mail is from an institution you do business with, use a bookmark that you've already created to visit the company's web site.

  • Be suspicious of any e-mail that asks for personal information, requests your authentication, or indicates a problem with your Armed Forces Bank of California accounts. If you receive an e-mail like this, do not reply by e-mail. Instead, call the Customer Service at 1-888-715-8282 to verify the legitimacy of the e-mail.

  • Armed Forces Bank of California does not request personal information from customers via e-mail or pop-up windows.

  • Do not open attachments. Armed Forces Bank of California does not send e-mail attachments, other than in instances where the Bank has deemed that the content of an e-mail message warrants encryption for security purposes.

  • Only provide your personal information if you initiated the sign-on process to your account at Armed Forces Bank of California.

  • Use virus protection software and keep the virus lists current.

  • Keep your computer's operating system and web browser up-to-date.
If our domain name is not in the web browser's address field, it's not our web site.
Web addresses for Armed Forces Bank of California:
  • Web site: afbank.com

  • Online forms: secure.afbank.com and secure.webcreate.com

  • Online banking (stand alone): ecom.dfckc.com

  • Mortgage Center: afb.mortgagewebcenter.com