Ransomware attacks occur every 11 seconds, as of 2021, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in reference to a report by Cybersecurity Ventures in New York.

Small businesses are the target 43% of the time. This has grown 400% since the pandemic began in 2020.

“The stakes are higher than ever,” said Marty McGuire, the marketing director for Mauch Chunk Trust Co. “If a scammer reaches a susceptible person, they can get access to financial accounts.”

Phishing attacks are the leading delivery form of ransomware. These emails, texts, calls and even fake websites try to lure and sometimes scare people into giving personal account information. The website StopRansomware.gov has examples of actual phishing emails. Anyone wanting to report a possible phishing attempt can go to www.ic3.gov to file a complaint.

McGuire said Mauch Chunk Trust has taken special efforts to educate its customers about cyber security and is working with the American Bankers Association to get the message across.

“At the forefront is fraud prevention and helping them to learn how to protect their assets,” McGuire said. “It helps us all. The more we know about it, the more we can protect our neighbors and family.”

Likewise, Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank is taking efforts to educate its customers.

Every month for the last two years, the bank puts out a Cyber Tips Newsletter. Each issue is kept on its website at www.jtnb.com/resources/consumer-tips for people to read over the months they missed.

“Protecting the customers is a huge responsibility to us,” said Gino DeGiosio, the vice president of commercial lending.

One way the bank offers it’s credit card customers greater cyber security protection is through the app MyCard Mobile. The app alerts customers when there is a transaction on the account and gives them the ability to lock and report lost or stolen credit cards.

The app also gives customers the ability to make a payment or check the balance and transaction history, as well as review data about their spending habits.

“The bottom line is that security features not only save the customers money, but they save the bank, too,” DeGiosio said.

In an effort to get the word out about what banks ask and don’t ask customers, the American Bankers Association created a colorful Web page titled “Banks Never Ask That” and offered it to banks to place on their websites. Some of the things under the “Banks Never Ask That” banner include:

• Banks don’t ask a customer for his or her account number in an email.

• Nor do they ask customer to send money to himself or herself with a payment app, such as Venmo, Zelle or CashApp.

• Banks also don’t ask for a password to a customer’s payment app and won’t call to verify a password or account number.

“All of these are examples of ways to steal personal information,” McGuire said.

Similar to JTNB, Mauch Chunk Trust also has a section with cyber security tips at www.mct.bank/Security-Center on its website. It is under the resources tab titled Security Center.

Mauch Chunk Trust has also taken another step to help customers distinguish between their bank website and a fake bank. It has changed its domain name to. bank, instead of .com.

“If it’s not a. bank, it’s not us,” McGuire said.

The. bank domain is called a gated domain similar to .gov and .edu. McGuire said that the vetting program is strict and only verified banks can receive the. bank domain. Anyone can purchase a .com domain.

Another asset to customers is that all banks with a. bank domain must implement additional security requirements to protect their sites and emails. All banks using. bank are monitored on an ongoing basis to make sure that it is staying in compliance with these security requirements.