Security Alert: Text Message Scam: Click here for information

Metro Security and You 

At Metro, protecting the personal and account information of our members is our most important priority.  With advances in technology, online identity theft has quickly become one of the fastest growing forms of fraud.  In order to provide safe online banking, we take a number of important steps. Here are just some of the ways Metro continues to be a safe credit union and protects you. 

Be aware of Phishing scams.

The latest scam, popularly called "Phishing" uses replicas of existing web pages to deceive you into providing personal, financial or password data. Phishing is a term coined by Internet hackers who use email lures to "fish" passwords and financial data from the sea of Internet users. The emails direct recipients to update or provide information back to the company's website by instructing the user to click on a URL embedded within the email. The embedded URL links the user to a counterfeit website designed to look like the company's legitimate website. Passwords and other personal information are then solicited and collected by the website and used by the scammer to defraud the user.

To report suspicious email, click here.

How Metro is working to protect you.

A safe credit union in Massachusetts, Metro is working to protect you from Phishing scams.

• Metro avoids email communications that follow the model employed by Phishing scams.
• We do not send email messages to our members instructing them to follow embedded URL links to our website to update personal information or provide passwords.
• We do not send email messages that contain embedded forms soliciting sensitive information from our members.
• We will never ask you to provide account passwords in an email.
• Our employees are trained to effectively and quickly respond to reports of Phishing from our members.
• We have established contact points for you to get answers to questions regarding emails that claim to be from the credit union or websites that claim to belong to Metro Credit Union.

Steps you can take to protect yourself.

• Do not trust or act upon unsolicited emails that request personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, ATM Pins, social security numbers, etc.
• Recognize that fraudulent emails are typically not personalized with financial institution information and often present end users with scenarios of negative consequences if they do not act immediately on the email instructions.
• Look for poor grammar in communications, something that's common in fraudulent emails.
• Do not fill out forms contained in email messages requesting sensitive information.
• Personal information should be provided by calling the credit union directly or by using online banking and logging onto our secure website by typing our web address, www.metrocu.org, into your browser.
• Type Metro Credit Union's URL www.metrocu.org into your browser and bookmark it. Use the bookmark derived from hand-typing the address for all subsequent visits to your financial institution's website.
• Keep your web browser patches up to date.
• Regularly access your browser's website to download security patches. Doing so will protect you against a variety of software vulnerabilities.
• Regularly login to your online accounts. If you see anything unusual, report it immediately to the credit union.
• Pay close attention to your credit union, credit card and debit card statements. If you see anything suspicious, immediately contact the credit union and/or the card issuer.

If you receive an email claiming to be from Metro Credit Union which you suspect is aimed at defrauding you, contact us at abuse@metrocu.org and file your complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or call its Identity Theft Hotline at 877-IDTheft (877-438-4338).

Ways Metro protects you while banking online.

Passwords/Encryption

When you bank online, you will be asked to create a unique username and password to access your accounts. This information is encrypted during transmission, using the highest level of encryption available, 128-bit. The encryption is really a coded sequence with billions of possible variations making it nearly impossible for identity thieves to decipher.

When you see a "closed lock" icon in the lower right-hand corner (Microsoft Internet Explorer) or lower left-hand corner (Netscape Navigator), you'll know that encryption is being used on any web page you are viewing. In addition, any Web address beginning with "https://..." indicates the page you are viewing uses encryption. The "s" stands for "secured."

Firewall

Please note that Metro's computer systems are protected 24 hours a day by a powerful firewall that blocks unauthorized entry. In order to gain access to authorized information, the Web browser you are using must know the proper protocol, or language, and even then only select information is available.

24/7 Surveillance

Metro continually maintains and monitors our security systems to make sure that your accounts are safe and secure.