Visit the Australian Government SCAMWATCH website for Consumer Fraud information
Internet Banking Security Update
• 
Download
Fraud information booklet Recommended
There have been a number of recent reports of banking customers being the
target of InternetBanking related scams.
The most prevalent of these scams right now is 'phishing' - email messages which appear to come from your bank. Often they contain authentic logos, bank business numbers or are carbon copies of genuine sites. They are designed to fool recipients into divulging personal data such as account under names, PINS or passwords and credit card numbers. These are fraudulent attempts to obtain your password.
Please be assured there are no known circumstances where Southern Cross Credit Union members have received such requests.
Members are reminded that they should protect their password at all times and never disclose it to anyone. Please DO NOT respond to requests to:
Disclose your
password to a person contacting you in person or by telephone
Disclose your password to a person contacting you by email.
Login to any unauthorised web site addresses. Make sure you only login via
our authorised site address.
We will never request that your password be communicated to us in any form.
Always protect your password for internet banking and do not reveal any information or passwords to anyone, this is for the protection of our members and the Credit Union.
How
to prevent fraudulent attempts to obtain your banking details 
•
Never
disclose your NetBanking Password to anyone
• We never send emails requesting
password or account details, disregard emails that ask for this information
• Never access NetBanking from an
email link
• Keep virus protection up to date
NETBANKING SECURITY INFORMATION
NetBanking allows you to directly access and maintain your membership details, wherever you have access to the Internet. As your financial institution we are more than happy to allow you to access your details and allow you this control.
NetBanking gives you greater control over your financial affairs, with your convenience in mind. Before becoming a Secure NetBanking Member we would like you to understand a few conditions and values established at Southern Cross Credit Union.
We at all times practice high security standards to maintain the integrity and privacy of all member information through the entire organisation. We ask our new NetBanking Members to adopt these values and practices, and to ensure that all care is taken to maintain your NetBanking membership in a responsible manner.
Some Tips that will assist you
NetBanking
Password
The value of your NetBanking password is no different to that of your PIN
on your Redicard or Visa Card. We can protect your data and ensure that the
security system protects against fraudulent activity, but access via your
password is directly your responsibility.
Do not disclose your password to anyone else. If you suspect the integrity of your password, change it immediately.
Access
to your computer
NetBanking will log you off after a period of time where there has been no
activity, so this will minimise the risk of a fraudulent transaction, but
avoid leaving your computer unattended while you are connected to NetBanking.
When you have finished using NetBanking, you should use the logout
option to exit.
Protect your computer with anti-virus software
Protect your records
Maintain control over your account details if you save or print them after accessing them via NetBanking.
ADDED SECURITY
After 3 incorrect password attempt NetBanking access will be 'locked'. This is to ensure that there is no unauthorised access to your account details.
If your account becomes locked, it will then be necessary for you to contact us on (02) 6672 2744 to request that your NetBanking access be reinstated.
To avoid incorrect password attempts, we strongly recommend that you have a password of your own choosing which will be easy for you to remember, and you should also be aware that the passwords are case sensitive so you need to check your Caps Lock key.
SECURITY CONCERNS:
How safe is my account is a common question. The following is a brief discussion on security and how your account is protected from manipulation by undesirable elements.
There are a number of features in this Internet banking package that ensure your account is safeguarded.
At the credit union site there are a number of features such as firewalls (a software/hardware solution that stops and reports any incoming non-authorised visitors), private protocols, NT security features, multiple numbers of servers and other safeguards.
At your site there is your password, the login page is unable to be caching (caching is the temporary storage of a web page on your machine, so the page is quicker to download next visit) and your password is encoded with a one way algorithm.
After conducting your business, the Internet banking session will automatically timeout. It is best however to properly logout when leaving your PC.
During a session encryption is used when processing any requests to your account. Encryption is the transformation of data into some unreadable form. Its purpose is to ensure privacy by keeping the information hidden from anyone for whom it is not intended. Encryption is based on complex mathematics.
The process revolves around the concept of security 'keys'. Without the correct 'key' you simply cannot access the information requested. Your browser comes with security software installed. The latest browsers 4.0 and above are equipped to handle 128 bit encryption.
There are other security features and if you are still concerned please contact our Systems Manager and they will be able to advise you further.
