Site Security

Our Security Measures

When we talk about security, we don't just mean protecting the transmissions between your computer and our systems. We do far more to help safeguard your information.

Best Practices
Enhanced Login Security
How to Enroll
How Enhanced Login Security Works
Phishing Scams
About Your Challenge Questions
Frequently Asked Questions

Best Practices

We have an integrated system of industry best practices and technologically advanced safeguards that includes:

SSL and encryption
Firewall
Monitoring
Automatic logout

SSL and encryption.
We use an industry-standard technology called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt the information flowing between your computer and our servers. Encryption works by scrambling words and numbers before they travel across the Internet so they can't be read or altered.

Several levels of encryption are available. A higher number indicates more secure communication. Browsers that support 128-bit encryption currently offer the best protection.

Firewall.
A firewall is a combination of hardware and software deployed to control the information that can pass from the Internet into our internal systems and servers. Firewalls enforce a set of rules intended to bar intruders and viruses from gaining entry.

Monitoring.
We continually monitor our systems for evidence of attempted break-ins. Our monitoring methods combine internal resources and security companies we pay to help safeguard your information.

Automatic logout and account lock.
The automatic logout is intended to protect your account information from passersby if you're interrupted and leave your computer before logging out. Typically, you'll be automatically logged out 30 minutes after your last click in a secure session. We also "lock" (or block) access to your account after 3 unsuccessful attempts. Unlocking your account can then be accomplished by calling our customer service line.

Security measures you can take.
You can take numerous actions to increase your Internet security. Some basic security measures are listed below, but we encourage you to also read through the security topics listed in the navigation menu on the left.

Use a browser with 128-bit encryption.
Make sure you're on a secure page.
Log out and close your browser.
Clear your cache.
Use a browser with 128-bit encryption. To enter the secure areas of our site, your browser must support 128-bit encryption.

Make sure you're on a secure page.
When viewing account information online, you'll know that the information being transmitted is being encrypted and secure if the "locking" symbol of your browser shows a closed lock. Your browser will always display this lock in the same location. Typically, it's in the lower right of the browser window, but not all browsers show it in the same place. Find it on your browser and always check for it in that location when inputting or looking at confidential information.

You can also look at the address box (URL) to see whether http:// has changed to https://. The "s" indicates your connection is secure. However, you can't trust this indicator alone if you've clicked an email link because some "phishing" scams have managed to fake the "https" to make the URL look secure.

Log out and close your browser.
If you leave a computer without logging out and closing your browser, someone else could use the browser's back button to view information you entered. Your user ID and password on ftbank.com are protected separately by our site's security, which clears them from your browser as soon as you've logged in.

Clear your cache.
As an additional precaution after visiting any secure site, you may wish to delete any page images your browser stored to your hard drive. These page images are called "cache." Your computer uses cache to make your experience faster by loading images from your hard drive rather than downloading them repeatedly from the website's server. Your browser's Help section should have instructions detailing how to clear your cache.

Security threats are ever changing
We use intensive testing procedures and other safeguards to verify that customer information is protected. But no security system is foolproof. Please be sure you're comfortable with our security measures before accessing your account online.

Enhanced Login Security

Enhanced Login Security is a free and easy way to help prevent fraud. This security technology helps to protect your accounts from unauthorized access. It identifies you as the owner of your accounts by recognizing not only your password but your computer as well. If we don't recognize your computer—you've logged in from a public computer or one you haven't used before—we'll ask you for information that only you will know as an additional line of defense to prevent unauthorized access.

Enhanced login security:

Helps defend against identity theft and fraud
Provides an additional layer of security on any computer, wherever you are
Makes it easy for you to bank online anytime, anywhere

If you haven't enrolled already, next time you log into online banking on ftbank.com you'll be automatically prompted to enroll your computer. To enroll, you'll be asked to answer a set of challenge questions and to confirm your email address. If you ever login from a different computer in the future, we'll confirm your identity by asking you for the answers you provided.

How to Enroll

Log into your account on ftbank.com.
Go to the "Online Services" section of online banking.
Click the "Enhanced Login Security" link.
Leave the first (default) option selected, and click "Submit."
On the pop-up window, click "OK."
A success screen displays.

You may enroll as many computers as you like. We recommend that you do not enroll public computers. If you no longer use a certain computer for online banking, we recommend you unenroll it from Enhanced Login Security by following the unenrollment steps (select the fourth option within the enrollment steps).

How Enhanced Login Security Works

Enhanced Login Security stores a browser-based secure cookie (see definition below) with an individualized credential on your computer. This way, both your machine and your username and password are confirmed each time you log in to online banking.

If you enroll a computer that other people in the household use, it's important to keep your password and ID confidential. The computer will already be verified, therefore, you will not be required to answer your challenge questions.

Because the cookie is stored in your browser, our system will not recognize you if you're using a different computer or a different browser on the same computer. If this situation occurs, you'll be asked to answer your challenge questions to verify your identity.

Watch Out for Phishing Scams

Have you ever received an email from a business asking you to provide personal information like your Social Security number or account number? Chances are it was a scam by someone trying to steal your identity for fraudulent purposes.

What's phishing? It's any email that seems to be from a legitimate business but is really intended to steal personal information.

Phishers bait their hooks with an email designed to look like it's from a bank, retail or auction site, or some other business you may have an online relationship with. The message typically claims there's a problem with your account and asks you to click a link in the email and return to their site to confirm your account number, credit card information, password or other sensitive information.

The link takes you to a site cleverly designed to look like the business's website, but any information you enter is captured by the phisher, who may use it to steal your identity, make purchases using your credit card or drain money from your accounts.

How to avoid being hooked by phishers

Develop a healthy skepticism when reading any email that asks for sensitive information and take a couple of simple steps to protect yourself.

Retype the URL. Phishers are very sophisticated in their use of design and technology to make their email lures look legitimate. The URL for the link in phishing scam emails usually appears to be a company's valid Web address. If you click the link, you're redirected to the phishers' phony site. However, if you type the displayed address into your browser rather than clicking the link, you can avoid being redirected.

Call the company. Franklin Templeton will never ask for personal financial information from you in an email, and we believe most reputable financial services companies won't either. If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of an email, call the company that sent it.

Banks and investment companies typically have phone support in addition to their websites. A quick phone call to the customer service department can let you know if the "problem with your account" is for real.

Stay informed. Phishing scams become more complex as the phishers try to stay ahead of the people trying to stop them. You can keep tabs on the latest phishing scams at www.antiphishing.org, a website hosted by a group trying to eliminate identity theft and fraud related to phishing.

About Your Challenge Questions

To establish Enhanced Login Security, you'll be asked to provide answers to a set of challenge questions. You'll select your favorite questions from three groups of questions and provide answers you'll be able to remember.

You'll only be required to provide your answers to these questions if you're an enrolled user and are using an unenrolled computer (for example, at the library or a friend's house) or are using an enrolled computer but accessing your online accounts using a different browser (for example, you previously used Internet Explorer, but are now using Firefox).

Answering your challenge questions successfully will provide you temporary access to your account (it does not enroll the computer you're accessing your account from). If you'd like to enroll the computer (so you're not asked your challenge questions again), follow the enrollment steps. If you plan to use more than one browser (for example, Internet Explorer AND Firefox), you may register both. (Again, we advise that you not enroll public computers.)

If you've forgotten the answers to your challenge questions, you'll receive onscreen instructions for how to proceed. If you enter the wrong answer(s), an error message will display. You must then exit out of the system and attempt to log in again to get back to the challenge screen. You may change your question(s) and answer(s) at any time by clicking on the Challenge Question Setup link in the Online Services section once you've logged in to your account.

(NOTE: You may have previously set up questions to assist in resetting your password. These questions will no longer apply. Going forward, the new set of challenge questions will apply to both your password reset functionality and Enhanced Login Security).

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm trying to access my online Franklin Templeton Bank & Trust account, and I'm being asked for answers to my challenge questions. Why?
You may be using either a different computer or a different browser on the same computer. In these cases our systems can't match your name and password with your computer. You may answer the challenge questions and temporarily use ftbank.com. If you'd like to enroll a computer or browser, you may do so by following the enrollment steps.

What happens if I clear my browser's memory cache and/or cookies?
It's common for online users to clear their cache and/or cookies from time to time, especially if they're troubleshooting a problem. However, if you're enrolled your computer in Enhanced Login Security, clearing your memory cache and/or cookies will unenroll that computer. You'll need to re-enroll that computer to avoid being asked your challenge questions each time.

What's a browser-based secure cookie?
A browser-based secure cookie is an encrypted message a Web server gives to a Web browser. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. This process identifies the browser (and thus the computer) as an authorized access point for the user attempting to access online banking.

Are my password reset questions and challenge questions for the enhanced login security feature the same?
Yes. Once you enroll in Enhanced Login Security, you'll be asked the same set of questions for both features.

I often use a computer at the library to check my online banking account. Should I enroll that computer so I don't have to answer the challenge questions each time?
No. To protect yourself from fraud, we recommend you never enroll a public computer. It's safer to continue to answer the challenge questions.

I've accessed my account from another computer and was not asked my challenge questions. Why?
A password reset will unenroll you from Enhanced Login Security. If your password has been reset since the last time you logged in, you'll need to re-enroll all browsers and computers you'd like to use to access your account.

What if I forget my answers to the challenge questions?
Please call FTB&T Customer Service at 877/664-4286. We'll reset your password, and you'll be unenrolled from Enhanced Login Security. You'll then be able to re-enroll your computer as well as set up your challenge questions and answers again.

Additional questions? Contact Franklin Templeton Bank & Trust at 877/664-4286.