First Horizon Bank and First Tennessee Bank, the banks of First Horizon National Corp., have enhanced their online banking log-in process to deter phishing.
Phishing is the imitation of a legitimate web page to trick users into providing sensitive personal data such as account numbers, passwords, credit card numbers, usernames and social security numbers.
The banks have added a random security question and a TrustWord program to the log-in process. The security question is derived from information the company already has on file, such as the month of the customer’s birth or the last four digits of a social security number.
Once a customer correctly answers the question, they will see a personal TrustWord. The TrustWord is a type of reverse password that the customer selects one time, and the same TrustWord is shown each time a customer logs in to online banking. Once the TrustWord appears, the customer enters an online banking password to begin doing business online.
There are benefits for us and our customers from the two-step process we’ve added, because it verifies to us that the customer is who he or she says, and it lets customers know that we really are First Horizon or First Tennessee when they see a TrustWord that they provided to us, said Walter Latinik, vice president of online financial services.
First Tennessee’s and First Horizon’s online banking web sites enable customers to transfer funds, check balances, view deposits and pay bills.