In 2011, bank regulators issued an update to the 2005 guidelines they published regarding security measures associated with Online Banking activities. The regulatory agencies consider single factor authentication (ex. login and password only) to be inadequate protections for online transactions that include customer information and funds movement. To protect your financial information and the security of your online transactions, they have required that all institutions implement layered security that will help protect you from fraudulent activities like phishing, identity theft and spoofed web sites.

Southcoast has implemented these security features, called Passmark Multifactor Authentication. Everyone enrolled in Online Banking access is required to set up these features.

What is PassMark?

Passmark is a security feature enabled on all Southcoast Online Banking logins. It helps prevent unauthorized access to your accounts while reassuring you that you are at the actual Southcoast Bank website. There are three components: an image, a phrase and 3 challenge questions. Once you have completed the PassMark enrollment, you will first enter your LoginID then verify that your image and phrase are the ones you selected. If the items are what you have selected, you are safe to enter your password and proceed with logging in.

Why do I need PassMark?

PassMark helps to ensure that your information is secure, thus protecting you from identity theft, fraud and phishing. It allows the bank to identify your computer (and therefore, that you are the proper user) and in turn, assures you that you are on the bank's site.

How does PassMark work?

When you enroll, you will be asked to select a secret image, phrase and provide answers to three challenge questions. PassMark then uses this information to verify your identity in two ways:

[1] Whenever you login, we'll show you the picture and the phrase so you can be assured you are accessing your real banking site and not an impostor site.

[2] We also check the computer(s) or device(s) you are using to access our website. You probably use one or two computers, such as work and home. If you tell it to, PassMark will remember those computers by assigning a unique identifier to it. No personal or private data is stored in any way. 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.

How is PassMark more secure?

It protects you from accidentally revealing your login information to a fake website. In addition, if someone does somehow obtain your user name and/or password, they will still be unable to access your accounts because they are not at a registered computer.

How easy is PassMark to use?

Very simple! There's nothing to memorize or write down - just look for your PassMark image and phrase at login.

What keeps someone from stealing my PassMark image and/or phrase?

Southcoast Bank will only show your PassMark image and phrase if you login from a computer we recognize as yours or after you have answered a challenge question correctly to verify your identity. It is critical that your remember the answer to your challenge questions as this will help us identify that it is you attempting to login from a previously unregistered computer.

Should I register every computer I login from?

We recommend that you only register computers that you have frequent and consistent access to, such as your home computer or your work computer. Any public computers, such as at the library or a computer lab at school, should not be registered as it removes the dual-layer identity protection that PassMark assigns.

Why do I also have to setup challenge questions?

Challenge questions prevent unauthorized users from accessing your Online Banking information. Even if they have stolen your LoginID and password, they will be logging in from an unregistered computer and will be presented with the questions, which they won't know the answer too. This is also why it's not recommended that you register only computers that you have frequent and consistent access to.

How do I know I'm at the valid Southcoast Online Banking site?

The secret image and phrase you selected will appear, confirming you're at the legitimate bank website.

I'm sharing my LoginID with someone else. How will they be affected?

Sharing the same LoginID and password should always be avoided. It is more secure for each individual person to have their own credentials and access to Online Banking. Typically, this is the first person on the account. If there is a joint owner, they must obtain their own login information, which means they will also enroll in PassMark.

I share my computer with someone who also uses Southcoast Online Banking. Can both of us still login from this computer?

Absolutely! You can both use the computer to login to your individual Internet Banking accounts; you won't see each other's information. There's no limit to the number of people that can sign into Online Banking from the same computer. Just remember not to share your LoginID, password or answers to your challenge questions.

Can I login from different computers?

Sure! The purpose of multi-factor authentication is not to limit your access but to protect your financial information. When you login from a computer that you haven't used to access Online Banking before, you will be asked to provide the answer to one of your challenge questions to help us identify you. If you provide the correct answer, you will then be shown your PassMark image and phrase and can proceed with entering your password and accessing Internet Banking.

I am logging in from a computer I had previously registered and am not being shown my PassMark. Instead, I am being asked a challenge question? What is happening?

This might happen in cases where you have deleted all cookies from your computer, either through a manual cleanup or by running some PC cleaner program. Before answering the question or providing your password, make sure you are going to the legitimate bank website by typing www.southcoastbank.com into your browser and using the Online Banking link from there. Once you've done that, if you are still prompted with a question, you can go ahead and answer it and if you are shown the PassMark image and phrase, you can be confident that you are using Southcoast's Online Banking.

I can't seem to register my mobile device. I always have to answer a question when logging in. Why is this?

Some mobile devices do not store the cookies the same way a PC does. It is recommended that you just answer your challenge questions as prompted.

How much does PassMark cost?

Absolutely nothing. It is a free service built into your Online Banking access.

How do I enroll?

Customers will automatically be prompted to provide the information need for PassMark upon their first login to the Online Banking system.

What happens if I choose not to enroll?

ALL Southcoast customers are required to enroll and use PassMark to login to Online Banking. It is easy to use and will protect you against identity theft and fraud. Please don't hesitate to contact your local branch if you need further explanation or have any questions about PassMark or how to enroll.

Can I change my PassMark image and phrase?

Yes! Once you have logged into Southcoast Online Banking, go to Preferences > Change Security Settings. You may change your Image and phrase on the first page. If you just want to change the answers to your Challenge Questions, click Submit at the Secure Login Image and Phrase page and you will be directed to the next page where you can change your answers.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is an attempt to trick people into revealing their personal information login information by creating "fake" websites that look very much like the sites of legitimate financial institutions. They send out random emails with links to these fake websites. Southcoast will never send you an email with instructions to follow a link in an email and provide your login information. If you receive an email asking you to click through and provide any of this information, you can assume this is fraudulent and not provide that information.

What is a Trojan (Horse) or Key Logger?

Trojans or Key Loggers are programs put by on random computers in order to harvest your user ID and password information used to login to websites. They collect this information and secretly transmit it to another computer where someone attempting to defraud people can attempt to login to your Internet Banking. These are called Trojans (short for Trojan Horse) or Key Loggers (for logging your keystrokes).

How does PassMark protect me from a Trojan (Horse) and Key Logger?

Once you have a PassMark and have registered your computer, even if someone steals your Login ID and password, their computer will not be registered and they will not be able to login as you; thus, PassMark protects your identity and your account.

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.