Members of more than 100 credit unions throughout the United States can access online services with more confidence than ever, now that the financial institutions are protecting their Internet sites with advanced security solutions from VeriSign (NasdaqGS:VRSN), the leading provider of Internet infrastructure for the networked world.
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, NIH Federal Credit Union, University of Wisconsin Credit Union and San Mateo Credit Union are leading the charge among institutions committed to foiling the efforts of e-criminals and scam artists by deploying VeriSign Extended Validation (EV) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates.
The credit unions are turning to VeriSign EV SSL because it provides an effective weapon against phishing scams that lure unsuspecting consumers to imposter sites that appear almost identical to the financial institutions' genuine Web pages. Identity thieves use these fraudulent pages to capture valuable personal information, including account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers.
By deploying VeriSign EV SSL Certificates, these financial institutions can provide consumers using high security browsers with instantly recognizable visible cues that help assure users they have reached a genuine Web page.
"For us and for our members, the real currency of doing business online isn't money at all; it's trust," said Pete Kneisler, vice president of information services at San Mateo Credit Union. "The values of trust and community go to the very heart of the credit union concept, which means we must do everything we can to preserve those values. By deploying VeriSign EV SSL, we are living up to the commitment we make with every San Mateo Credit Union member. VeriSign EV SSL is an essential part of our online presence."
When a financial institution or other online business uses an EV SSL Certificate to identify itself, browsers including Internet Explorer 7 and the latest beta version of Firefox 3 display easily understood visual cues to provide tangible assurance of a site's authenticity. The address bar turns green, a lock icon appears next to the address, and a new field displays to the right of the URL in the browser. This field contains the name of the organization that owns the site as well as the security provider that issued the certificate, such as VeriSign.
"Whether our members choose to conduct business with us in person or online, we owe it to them to make the experience easy and utterly free of even the slightest privacy concerns," said April Clobes, vice president of e-commerce at Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. "VeriSign EV SSL Certificates help us to provide members with the much-needed reassurance that they have reached the legitimate MSU Federal Credit Union Web site. And by deploying technology from VeriSign, we benefit from the No. 1 Internet security brand in the world."
"Banks, credit unions and financial institutions all are adopting VeriSign EV SSL to help shield their valued clientele from the devastating impact of identity theft," said Tim Callan, vice president of SSL product marketing at VeriSign. "VeriSign EV SSL Certificates have proven to be a crucial asset in the effort to keep consumers beyond the ever-present reach of phishers and e-criminals. We are delighted to see so many credit unions employ this effective protection."