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PassMark FAQ

Background
In October 2005, the bank regulators issued new guidance for banks regarding data security measures associated with Internet banking activities. Banks are expected to conform to this guidance within a reasonable time.

The regulatory agencies consider single factor authentication (i.e. login and password) not adequate protection for high-risk transactions including customer information or funds movement. Where the password method is inadequate, the regulators call for the bank to implement layered security, or other comparable controls to lessen the risk of fraud or identity theft on you.

What is PassMark?
We are proud to deliver the highest level of security for our Internet banking customers. We’re adding an additional layer of security to our log in process called PassMark. This helps ensure that your information is secure, protecting you from fraud and identity theft.

How does PassMark work?
PassMark verifies your identity in two ways.

(1) When you enroll in PassMark, you will select a secret picture and challenge question and answer. Whenever you log in, we'll show you this picture so you can be assured you are accessing your real banking site and not an imposter site.

(2) We also check the computer(s) or device(s) you are using to access our website. You probably access our website from one or two computers, such as your work and home computers. PassMark remembers your computers. If you log in from a different computer, we take additional security steps to verify your identity by asking you to provide the answer to one of your secret questions.

PassMark remembers your computer by assigning a unique identifier to that computer when you register it. No personal or private data is stored in any way.

Why do we need PassMark?
With PassMark, we’re adding another layer of security to protect our customers’ information and their online banking accounts. PassMark also guards against ever-increasing e-mail scams called phishing and pharming.

Will my Login ID or password change?
No. You can still use your current Login ID and Password for logging in to Internet banking.

How do I enroll for PassMark?
Customers will automatically be prompted to the enrollment screen when they log in to Internet banking.

If someone steals my password, will PassMark prevent them from accessing my account?
Yes. If an unauthorized person tries to log in to your account from another computer, they will be asked one of your challenge questions that you set up (or we instantly e-mail a temporary password to your personal e-mail account). Without this additional personal information they will not be able to log in to your account.

If I am sharing my Login ID and Password with someone else, like my spouse, will they be affected?
Sharing login credentials, like a Login ID and Password, should always be avoided. Login credentials are not meant for more than one person. Typically, this is the first person on the account. Therefore, if a joint owner of an account wishes to have access to their account information, they must obtain their own login credentials, which means they will also need to enroll in PassMark.

What keeps someone from stealing my private image and pass phrase?
Your private image and pass phrase automatically appear only if you log in from a computer we already recognize as yours. If you log in from a different computer, we will ask one of your challenge questions before showing the image (or e-mail a temporary password to your e-mail account).

How do I know I'm at the valid Internet banking site?
Your secret image and text phrase will appear confirming that you're at the legitimate bank web site.

How do you know that I'm logging in from my own computer?
When you enroll, PassMark uses a cookie to identify your computer. Each time you log in, our software identifies your computer, your IP address, and other unique identifiers. The cookie is secure and does not contain any personal information.

If I delete my cookies, will I need to register the computer again?
Not necessarily. If you have Adobe® Flash® Player installed on your computer, we may use Flash shared objects to identify your computer in the event that we can't identify your cookies. By using Flash shared objects as a backup method for recognizing you as a valid user, we ensure that your log in experience is as quick and convenient as possible.

Can I access Internet banking from multiple computers?
Yes, you can access Internet banking from any number of computers. If you log in from a computer that you haven't used for Internet banking before, you just need to answer one of your challenge questions to verify that it's you (or we will instantly e-mail you a temporary password). You can register as many PCs as you like.

I share my computer with someone who also uses Internet banking. Can both of us still log in from this computer?
Yes…although we discourage the practice of sharing login credentials with anyone.. There's no limit to how many people can log in to Internet banking from the same computer. Remember not to share your User ID, Password, or answers to your challenge questions.

Can I change my PassMark image, pass phrase, and challenge questions?
Yes, after logging in, select OPTIONS, then CHANGE CHALLENGE INFORMATION.

What is Phishing?
Recently there have been attempts by fraudsters to trick people into revealing their personal information, such as passwords, by creating fake web sites that look very much like the sites of legitimate financial institutions. They send out emails randomly with links to these fake web sites. This phenomenon has been called Phishing, (pronounced “fishing”).

I am trying to log-in from my own computer, but the bank’s web site is not showing me my PassMark. Instead, it is asking me a question. What is happening?
This might happen in rare cases if you have deleted all cookies on your computer. Before answering a secret question or entering your password, make sure that you are going to the legitimate bank web site. The easiest way to ensure this is by typing the URL of the bank (www.mybank.com) directly into your web browser. Then, after you answer the security question, you should see your secret PassMark next to the password field. If your PassMark is there, you can be confident that you are at the legitimate web site and can enter your password.

What is a Trojan or Key Logger?
Some fraudsters have been putting programs on random computers in order to harvest your user id and password information used to log-in to web sites. They collect this information and secretly transmit it to their own computers and attempt to log-in to your site. These are called Trojans (short for Trojan Horse) or Key Loggers (for logging your keystrokes).

How does PassMark protect me from a Trojan or Key Logger?
Once you have a PassMark and have registered your computer, even if a fraudster steals our login ID and Password, his computer will not be registered and he will not be able to log-in as you; thus, PassMark helps protect your identity and your account.

What happens if I choose not to enroll in PassMark?
Once we make this feature available, you will have a limited time to set up your PassMark picture, phrase, and challenge questions before the process is mandatory! To access your accounts after the grace period ends, you will be required to set up your PassMark preferences.

SAFETY TIP: We will never ask you to change your private information, ask you for your password, challenge question or secret image, and we will never change it for you. No financial institution should ever ask for your secret information. ALWAYS BE SUSPICIOUS OF THIS AND CONTACT YOUR BANK IMMEDIATELY.