Fifth Third Offers Tips to Protect Consumers’ Identity and Financial Lives

CINCINNATI, March 19, 2020 /3BL Media/ – Fifth Third Bank, National Association, today offered tips to consumers to protect their identity and financial lives during the outbreak of coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes.

“During times of uncertainty, it’s natural to seek information and answers through the internet and social media,” said Jude Schramm, executive vice president and chief information officer, Fifth Third Bank. “Unfortunately, criminals will often use that to their advantage. While not Fifth Third specific, our team has noted the occurrence of phishing – when a data thief impersonates a legitimate person or company via email to bait the recipient into reporting confidential information or gaining unauthorized access to systems—and has seen reports of malware (malicious software) disguised as a coronavirus map.”   

Considering these developments, Fifth Third offers the following best practices:

• Stick to credible resources like the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov), National Institutes of Health (www.nih.gov), World Health Organization (www.who.int) and well-known local and national news reporting agencies for information.
• Do not click on links or attachments from senders you do not recognize. This applies not only to email, but also to text messages.
• Keep your computer “healthy” by applying patches and updates as soon as notified one is needed. Do not push off these updates until later.
• Do not share sensitive personal information (like usernames and passwords) by email.
• Watch for email senders using suspicious or misleading domain names.
• Inspect URLs carefully (without clicking on the link) to make sure they’re legitimate and not imposter sites.

About Fifth Third

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, National Association, a federally chartered institution. As of December 31, 2019, Fifth Third had $169 billion in assets and operated 1,149 full-service banking centers and 2,481 ATMs with Fifth Third branding in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its customers with access to approximately 53,000 fee-free ATMs across the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of December 31, 2019, had $413 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $49 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations through its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Deposit and Credit products are offered by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.