First Tennessee Bank and First Horizon Bank, the banks of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN), have added something new to their customers’ online banking log-in process to deter phishing and enhance security.
Phishing is when someone creates an imitation of a legitimate Web page to trick users into providing sensitive personal information like account numbers, usernames, passwords, credit card numbers or Social Security numbers.
First Tennessee and First Horizon have added a random security question and a TrustWord program to the online banking log-in process. The random security question is taken from information the company already has on file, such as the month of the customer’s birth or the last four digits of a customer’s Social Security Number.
Once a customer correctly answers the question, the customer 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.
“The two-step process we’ve added helps both us and the customer, 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 Keith Sanford, executive vice president of consumer banking. “We’re proud to be on the leading edge of online banking security for the industry.”
First Tennessee’s and First Horizon’s online banking websites enable customers to transfer funds, check balances, view deposits and pay bills. Online banking is free to First Horizon and First Tennessee customers.