We take online security very seriously and are always looking for new ways to keep your financial information safe from potential crooks. Between January 1 and June 30, 2005, the volume of phishing messages grew from an average of 2.99 million messages per day to 5.70 million messages per day, according to Symantec. Every day, consumers are unwittingly giving their personal information out to these thieves.
We’re proud to say that MONEYLINK Online provides you with a strong authentication layer that identifies unusual login activity and blocks unauthorized attempts using multi-level authentication. This added security layer works behind the scenes and doesn’t involve you jumping through any unnecessary hoops every time you log on!
MONEYLINK Online identifies Unusual Login Activity.
MONEYLINK Online identifies unusual logins by examining your current login activity with historic login characteristics and assigning a statistical score based on the differences in online behavior. If your online activity appears to be unusual, you might be required to answer the verification question you set up when you signed up for MONEYLINK Online.
We all have online account routines. Most likely you access your online accounts at specific times of the day using a specific browser on a specific computer. For example, imagine a member — let’s call her Nancy Webb—returns home from work, logs onto MONEYLINK Online, checks her online accounts, or makes an online bill payment from her home computer.
Because MONEYLINK Online has been recording Nancy’s login and session statistics—known as factors—the system calculates a pre-login score based on any differences between Nancy’s current login activity and her historical login statistics. The history is based on Nancy’s last 100 logins. Because Nancy logged onto the system under the same conditions as her past logins, the system will recognize this as legitimate and Nancy won’t have to answer her verification question.
Suppose Nancy Webb reveals her account information accidently in response to a phishing email. Because the fraudster now has Nancy’s access ID and password information, he can log onto the system with ease. Suppose the fraudster logs on from his computer at night. When the fraudster logs on, MONEYLINK Online calculates a pre-login score with a “high” number suggesting that unauthorized access may have taken place based on the differences between the fraudster’s login factors and Nancy’s historical login profile. The fraudster will then be asked to answer Nancy’s verification question. If the question is answered incorrectly, Nancy’s MONEYLINK access will be temporarily suspended until we can contact her to verify the attempted login. Since it’s unlikely the answer to Nancy’s verification question was a part of the phishing e-mail, the fraud should be stopped before it even starts!
This added layer of security has been in place since 2006 working to protect your accounts. Betcha’ didn’t even know it was there!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do I have to answer my
verification question each time I log on to MLOL?
A. No, you will only be asked to verify the answer to your verification question if the system detects something unusual in your login.
Q. Do I have to change my access ID to start being protected with this new security?
A. No, you won’t need to change your access ID and your online financial information is protected already!
Q. Can I opt out of answering verification questions?
A. No, verification questions serve as an additional layer of security to prevent unauthorized access to your account.
Q. What happens if someone tries to access my account and it locks me out?
A. If we see that your account has been temporarily suspended due to suspicious activity, we will contact you to verify the activity and discuss how to proceed.
Q. What if I answer my verification question incorrectly?
A. Call the Teleservice Call Center at 800.922.0446 and we’ll get your account unlocked.
Q. How do I change my verification question?
A. Login to MLOL and click User Services.
