Phishing Notice

One of the most prevalent types of online fraud being used today is called Phishing. Phishing is described as the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a website where they are asked to disclose or update personal or financial information, such as passwords or credit card, social security, and bank account numbers that the legitimate organization already has. The website, however, is bogus and is set up solely to gain access to and steal the user's personal information.

The Belize Bank Limited firmly believes that the protection of its clients from online fraud, while in part the responsibility of the online user, is to a certain extent dependent on the tools provided by Belize Bank Online to assist its clients in protecting themselves against online fraud.

Website Authenticity Verification Guideline:

• Clients should also ensure that the website address found on the browser's address bar starts with https to indicate a secure site. In the case of the Belize Bank Limited Online's webpage the address bar should start with https://online.belizebank.com.
  
  
• Whenever the Belize Bank Limited Online website is accessed, the VeriSign secured seal appears on the logon page indicating that the Website is secured by VeriSign. Clicking on this seal opens a pop-up window which indicates the details of The Belize Bank's security certificate.
  
  
• Belize Bank Limited Online webpage will also have a security certificate represented by a padlock icon found at the bottom right corner or on the address bar of the web browser. While implemented differently on each browser the user should be able to access the certificate by left clicking or double clicking on this padlock icon. The Belize Bank's certificate is issued by VeriSign to online.belizebank.com. This name should match the address found on the browser's address bar.
  
  

Customers are reminded that they will only receive emails with a link to Belize Bank Online during the initial Account Set Up and after they request a Password Reset. The Belize Bank Limited will never ask for personal information by email nor will close your account automatically if no response is received. If verification of personal information is ever required, a letter will be sent to the customer via posted mail. This letter will explain to the user what the bank needs and in most cases, the user must visit or contact the bank personally to give the information. In the event that a postal address for a user cannot be located, the bank will contact the individual by telephone and request the needed information in writing.

The Belize Bank Ltd. advises that any requests for information received via any other means of communication including e-mails with links to sites that request the user to provide such information are completely unauthorized and should be ignored, and no such information should be provided. In addition, The Belize Bank Limited encourages its clients to forward any suspicious e-mail to fraud@belizebank.com .

The Belize Bank highly recommends its customers keep their Operating System updated and have adequate and updated Antivirus and Anti-spyware installed. Clients should ensure that real time scanning is enabled and that Spyware scanning is run regularly or configured to scan automatically. We also take this opportunity to recommend our users have the latest browsers with Phishing filter enabled and with Medium security settings or higher. Our recommended browsers are Internet Explorer 7.0 and Firefox 3.x.

If in doubt about the authenticity of any email or the website you are accessing feel free to contact Online Banking's Customer Service at +501-227-7132 extension #195.

We thank you for your continued support and we invite any comments or suggestions regarding our online banking site to ensure your banking experience with us remains convenient and secure.

Tips on how to protect yourself from Phishing Attacks:

• Make sure to install anti-virus and anti-spyware software and keep them updated.


• Do not send sensitive information over the Internet before checking a website's authenticity.


• Pay attention to the URL of a website. Fraud sites may look identical to the real site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain.


• Do not click on suspicious links or download questionable files.


• Periodically change your password.


• Turn off your computer when not in use.


• Remember to forward any suspicious looking emails to fraud@belizebank.com .


• If you have any doubts that an email or website is genuine, do not act on its instructions. Instead contact The Belize Bank Online Customer Service Center at + 501-227-7132 extension #195 or by email at onlinebanking@belizebank.com .