Freedom Bank keeps you safe online.

Never give personal or account information over the phone.

Learn how to spot a scam with this resource from the American Bankers Association.

Freedom Bank values the safety and security of our customers. Be cautious and aware of attempts of fraud or identity theft. There are multiple ways scams can occur, from an unexpected email from a known company asking you to log in to take care of an urgent issue, to someone calling pretending to be from company you do business with, including a bank.

NEVER give out your personal information or login information over the phone, or click links or open attachments in emails you weren’t expecting. Freedom Bank will NEVER call you asking for your login information.

If you’re unsure about a call you receive, tell the person you will call them back and call back using a number you trust. Check out this FDIC webpage for more information on other scams and ways to protect yourself. If you have been or think you have been a victim of fraud or identity theft, call us immediately to help secure your accounts and review this checklist of steps to take.

How Encryption Works

The privacy of communications between you (your browser) and our servers is ensured via encryption. Encryption scrambles messages exchanged between your browser and our online banking server.

• When visiting the sign-on page for Freedom Online Banking systems, your browser establishes a secure session with our server.
• The secure session is established using a protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Encryption. This protocol requires the exchange of what are called public and private keys.
• Keys are random numbers chosen for that session and are only known between your browser and our server. Once keys are exchanged, your browser will use the numbers to scramble (encrypt) the messages sent between your browser and our server.
• Both sides require the keys because they need to descramble (decrypt) messages received. The SSL protocol assures privacy, but also ensures no other website can “impersonate” your financial institution’s website, nor alter information sent.
• To learn whether your browser is in secure mode, look for the secured lock symbol at the bottom of your browser window.

Encryption Level

The numbers used as encryption keys are similar to combination locks. The strength of encryption is based on the number of possible combinations a lock can have. The more possible combinations, the less likely someone could guess the combination to decrypt the message.

For your protection, our servers require the browser to connect at 128-bit encryption (versus the less-secure 40-bit encryption). Users will be unable to access online banking functions at lesser encryption levels. This may require some end users to upgrade their browser to the stronger encryption level.

To determine if your browser supports 128-bit encryption:

• Click “Help” in the toolbar of your Internet browser
• Click on “About [browser name]”
• A pop-up box or window will appear
• For Internet Explorer: next to “Cipher strength” you should see “128-bit”
• For Netscape: you should see “This version supports high-grade (128-bit) security with RSA Public Key Cryptography”

If your browser does not support 128-bit encryption, you must upgrade to continue to access the website’s secure pages.