| About FCB | October 19, 2008 | Dear Neighbors,
During the last few weeks our nation has experienced
a great deal of turmoil and uncertainty in the banking
industry. Many of you have asked important questions
about the safety of your money in your local bank. Despite
the news that several banks are experiencing difficulties,
our community bank, Florida Citizens Bank, is strong,
safe and secure, based on the following facts:
• Florida Citizens Bank ranks 9th out of all 310
Florida banks in return on average equity (the
amount shareholders earn on their investment,
based on the most recent FDIC quarterly reports).
• We have never made a sub-prime home mortgage
loan, do not own any and never will.
• We have money to lend. In the past six weeks, we
have made $13 million in new loans—all of them
right here in Alachua and Marion counties, helping
our communities to grow and prosper.
• Our bank is well-managed and conservative in its
lending policies and we are able to respond quickly
to loan requests. Our growth is controlled and
profitable. We are dedicated to the long-term health
of our communities.
Sincerely,
The Board of Directors of Florida Citizens Bank
Jack Bovay
Deborah Butler
Terry Crawford
Joseph Davis
Jonathan Dean
Larry Ellis
Franklin K. Lentz, Sr.
Carroll Lewis
James Quincey
Christopher Smith
Marilyn Tubb
Benny L. Walker
Carl Walls |
| Phishing | March 15, 2008 | Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-upmessages to lure personal and financial information from unsuspectingvictims. To avoid getting hooked: - Don't reply to email or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information, and don't click on links in the message. Don't cut and paste a link from the message into your Web browser, phishers can make links look like they go one place, but that actually send you to a different site.
- Some scammers send an email that appears to be from a legitimate business and ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a "refund." Because they use Voice Over Internet Protocol technology, the area code you call does not reflect where the scammers really are. If you need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card, or type in the web address yourself.
- Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly.
- Don't email personal or financial information.
- Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges.
- Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them.
- Forward spam that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. You also may report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing.
- If you've been scammed, visit the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
From the US government site at OnGuardOnline.gov |
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