Your Privacy

This section of our website explains our policy regarding any personal information you might supply to us when you visit this site. Our goal is to protect your information on the internet in the same way that we protect it in branches, at ATMs, and on the phone.

Flushing Savings Bank Internet Privacy Policy
You can visit this site and find out about our products and services, read our corporate reports, check on career opportunities, find branch locations, or get a news update and other value-added services without giving us any information about yourself.

If you provide personal information, such as address, e-mail, telephone and fax numbers, as well as demographic and customer identification, we will not disclose it to external organizations unless we have informed you, been authorized by you, or are required to do so by law. We will maintain this information, as well as your business activities and transactions, according to our strict and confidentiality standards. Click here for the full details of our customer privacy policy.

Online Banking System Security
In Internet banking as with traditional banking methods, security is a primary concern. At Flushing Savings Bank, we have taken many precautions so that your information is transmitted safely and securely. Many of the latest methods in Internet banking system security are used to increase and monitor the integrity and security of the system.

The security of the Flushing Savings Bank's Internet banking application is addressed at three levels. The first concern is the security of customer information as it is sent from the customer's PC to the Web Server. The second area concerns the security of the environment in which the Internet banking server and customer information database reside. Finally, security measures are in place to help prevent unauthorized users from logging into the online banking section of the Web Site.

Data security between the customer browser and our Web Server is handled through a security protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL provides data encryption, server authentication, and message integrity for an Internet connection. In addition, SSL provides a security "handshake" that is used to initiate the connection. This handshake results in the client and server agreeing on the level of security they will use and fulfills any authentication requirements for the connection. Currently Flushing Savings Bank's online banking application supports data encryption at the highest level (128 bit). In order to get this level of encryption, you will need a browser that supports it. Both versions 3 and 4 of the most popular browsers support 40-bit encryption as a default, and have complete versions as well as patches that will support the stronger 128-bit encryption. Check with your browser manufacturer's website for more information.

Requests for online banking information are passed on from the Web server to the Internet banking server. The Internet banking application is designed using a three-tiered architecture. The three-tiered architecture provides a double firewall, completely isolating the Web Server from the customer information SQL database.

The World Wide Web interface receives SSL input and sends requests through a firewall over a dedicated private network to the Internet banking server. The World Wide Web interface is the only process capable of communicating through the firewall to the Internet banking server. Therefore, only authenticated requests communicate with the Internet banking server.

The customer information database is housed on a Microsoft SQL Server, which implements Microsoft NT security in addition to the firewall technology. The customer database is stored on a RAID-5 drive array, which provides uninterruptible data access, even in the event of a hard drive failure. Just as the World Wide Web interface is the only process capable of communicating with the Internet banking server, the Internet banking server is the only process able to send requests to the SQL database. Thus, the outside world is removed from the customer database by two dedicated private networks.

A security analyzer constantly monitors login attempts and recognizes failures that could indicate a possible unauthorized attempt to log into an account. When such trends are observed, steps will be taken automatically to prevent that account from being used.

Security concerns have been addressed from several angles within the architecture of the Internet banking application. Implementation of the SSL security protocol on the Web server and customer browser helps ensure authenticated data has been received from the customer. The three-tiered approach of the Internet banking application creates a double firewall which performs information requests over dedicated networks designed to handle specific functions. Placing all business logic and event logging within the Internet banking server creates a controlled environment which allows quick incorporation of Internet security technologies as they evolve. Finally, the security analyzer monitors login attempts in order to prevent unauthorized logins.

Email Scams
These e-mails typically appear to have been sent by a legitimate source. The email asks the internet banking users to update their personal information, confirm their account status, or try a new online banking feature. An embedded link within the e-mail sends them to a bogus Web site that often looks similar to an actual online banking site.

In addition to other sensitive data, users are asked to enter account user name and password under the pretense of verifying their identity. Unfortunately, this information can then be used to gain access to real accounts online.

It is important that all internet banking users are aware of such types of fraud. Flushing Savings Bank has put together a brief list of what you can do to protect your financial information/data should you receive such an e-mail:

• Don't provide personal data, Social Security Number, account or credit card information over the phone or via the Web unless you have initiated the transaction.
• Compare the URL you use to access your online banking application with the URL provided.
• Review the sender e-mail address to verify that it is from a valid e-mail account. If the e-mail address appears suspicious in any way, notify Flushing Savings Bank immediately.
• Don't reply to any e-mail that requests your personal information.
• Leave any suspicious sites if you suspect that a Web site is not legitimate. Do not follow any of the instructions in the email.