Security & Customer Protection

Taking every precaution to guard your information

Internet/Online Security and Privacy Guidelines

Customers may have concerns about the security and privacy of their transactions involving the use of the Internet. Passumpsic Bank is committed to protecting the security of customer information in the Internet environment. How we use information collected over the Internet is covered by our Privacy Notice.

The security measures applied by Passumpsic Bank are covered by the SECURITY AND PRIVACY section of our Online Banking.

Protecting information online

Protect Your Personal Information online. Whether you are a customer or just visiting us Online at passumpsicbank.com, we safeguard the information you provide to us. How we protect this information is described below.

How we handle email

We preserve the content of your email, your email address and our responses so that we are able to handle more efficiently any follow-up questions you may have. We may also do this to meet legal and regulatory requirements. If we think that a particular Passumpsic Bank account or service might apply to your situation, we may occasionally contact you at your email address to inform you of potential benefits and availability.

Your emails to us should be sent to Passumpsic Bank. Email us at customersupport@passumpsicbank.com

Email correspondence sent over the Internet may not be secure. Therefore, you should not include confidential information (such as your account numbers, Social Security number, tax identification number or account password) in any email communication to us. Our email response to you will not include confidential account information. You may contact us by phone, by U.S. mail or by visiting your nearest banking office to review that information.

What we do with online surveys

The information you provide in response to promotions on our Website will be used for internal marketing purposes, including developing Website information and products and services that you may find helpful. In addition, we may inform you of new products and services from Passumpsic Bank based on information you provide us.

How we secure online banking

When you bank online with us, we, along with the outside companies we work with to bring these services to you, have access to your information. Information is retained on our system or the system of the appropriate outside company, depending on what is required in order to serve you.

We use state-of-the-art Internet technology to make online banking secure and to protect your personal information. We also require I.D. and a password to access your accounts. If you do not provide this information, we cannot establish an online banking service for you. You can help maintain the security of your banking information by not sharing your I.D. or password with anyone, by changing your password regularly, and by remembering to log off.

Protecting your privacy online

Whenever we ask for personal information on our Website, we use a Verisign secure site to transfer data. This technology encrypts or scrambles your account information so it's protected from unauthorized viewers.

When information is collected and not collected

Some areas of our Website require information, such as your email address or your account number, to enable you to perform certain tasks (for example, review your accounts or correspond with us). In those cases, we collect your information, if necessary, to interact with you. If you do not interact with us and you browse our Website anonymously, then personal information such as your email address is not collected.

Protecting Our Children

We do not knowingly solicit data from children, and we do not knowingly market to children. We recognize that protecting children's identities and privacy online is important and that the responsibility to do so rests with both the online industry and with parents.

Count on our commitment to your privacy

You can count on us to keep you informed about how we protect your privacy and limit the use of information you provide to us—whether at our banking offices, over the phone or through the Internet.

A note about links to other sites

Our Website has links to other sites. In a few cases we link to private organizations, with their permission. Before leaving the Passumpsic Bank Website, a page will appear informing you that you are leaving our server. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the Privacy Notice of the new site.

Please note that since we cannot control information on other Internet sites, we are not responsible for the content of sites linked from passumpsicbank.com and do not endorse any product or service that may be referred to on those sites.

Customer Protection

Fraud alerts for debit card customers

All Passumpsic Bank Debit Card customers will receive notice via text or automated voicemail in the event of any suspicious account transactions. Text & voice mail messages will NEVER ask any customer to reply and/or type in any personal information (account number, PIN, social security number, etc.). Text messages will ALWAYS come from 207-33. The automated voicemail number will ALWAYS be 877-253-8807 for those with caller ID.  

Text and automated voicemails provide only the following information to the customer: (1) the last four digits of the card number, (2) the amount of the transaction(s) and (3) the merchant name processing the transaction. Customers may reply with a YES to authorize or NO to unauthorized transactions. Cardholders may opt out of receiving SMS/text alerts by following the instructions provided in all messages sent to the cardholder. There is no additional fee for fraud alerts. If the cardholder does not respond after a combination of multiple SMS/text messages and voicemails, a letter will be sent via U.S. mail.

  • For cardholders that have their mobile service through Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint, text messages are sent using Free To End User texting. As the name implies, there are no costs to the cardholder to receive text messages from these carriers. All mobile carriers that do not support Free To End User texting will receive a voicemail.
  • For further assistance please call (800) 370-3196, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m. to Noon.  

Fraud alert from FDIC

The FDIC has issued a fraud alert about emails appearing to be authorized by the FDIC. The email and link are fraudulent. Recipients should not click on the link provided. Read More.

Tips for protecting personal information

Here are a few tips to protect your personal information against fraudulent schemes:

  • Our bank would never request a confirmation of personal information via email such as Social Security numbers, passwords, and account numbers. DO NOT respond to these emails, even if they look legitimate. We already have your information if you are a bank customer.
  • Never respond to an unsolicited email that asks for detailed financial information. Know who you are dealing with.
  • Resist the urge to respond to a suspicious email and to provide the information requested, despite urgent or exaggerated claims.
  • Read the text of the email several times and ask yourself why the information requested would really be needed.
  • Don’t use links that are provided in any suspicious email.
  • Be suspicious of any email notifications requiring you to act immediately to prevent an account from being closed or voided. Do not be intimidated!
  • Report anything suspicious to the proper authorities. Alert the company or government agency identified in the suspect e-mail through a phone number that you know to be legitimate.
  • Monitor your credit report at least annually.
  • Protect your Social Security number.
  • Protect your passwords: Never write down your passwords.
  • Never share passwords with anyone. Change your password every few months.  Change your password if you think it has been compromised.
  • For a password to be strong and hard to break, it should be at least nine characters long, contain characters from each of the following three groups: letters (uppercase and lowercase), numerals, symbols (all characters not defined as letters or numerals), not contain your name or user name and not be a common word or name.
  • Always use a secure website when submitting credit card information or other personal information in transactions that you initiate.
  • Be sure your computer is up-to-date with security patches, anti-virus, and anti-spyware protection.
  • Always virus-check any media before placing it in your computer.
  • Always virus check all email attachments before opening them.

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