Phishing, and Pharming "Phishing" is a form of Internet fraud that aims to steal valuable information such as credit cards, social security numbers, user IDs and passwords. A fake website is created that is similar to that of a legitimate organization, typically a financial institution such as a bank or insurance company. An email is sent requesting that the recipient access the fake website (which will usually be a replica of a trusted site) and enter their personal details, including security access codes. The term "Phishing" Comes from the analogy that internet scammers are using email bait to fish for passwords and financial data from the sea of internet users. Since hackers have a tendancy of replacing "f" with "ph", the term phishing was derived. The term has evolved over the years to include not only obtaining user account details but access to all personal and financial data. The Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 is a bill introduced by US Senator Patrick Leahy(VT) to combat a type of identity theft known as phishing. The bill proposes a five-year prison sentence and/or fine for individuals who commit identity theft using falsified corporate websites or e-mail messages.

"Pharming" is the exploitation of a vulnerability in the DNS server software that allows a hacker to acquire the Domain Name for a site, and to redirect traffic to that website to another web site. DNS servers are the machines responsible for resolving internet names into their real addresses - the "signposts" of the internet. When users type in a valid URL they are redirected to the criminals' websites instead of the intended valid website. Once the user is redirected to the fraudulent website. they will often become infected with Trojan Virus programs, worms, spyware, malware, or other virus technologies. Pharming is much more sophisticated than phishing. Horizon Bank employs multiple layers of security, including Firewalls, Intrusion Detection, Content Filtering, Virus Protection, and a host of other security measures to ensure the safety of all information, and physical property.

Spam Spam refers to electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited e-mail. In addition to being a nuisance, spam also eats up a lot of network bandwidth. Because the Internet is a public network, little can be done to prevent spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail. However, the use of software filters in e-mail programs can be used to remove most spam sent through e-mail. Horizon Bank will never send unsolicited emails.

Identity Theft Identity theft (or identity fraud) is a technically incorrect term used by the media to describe a crime, tort, or other harmful act by deliberately impersonating an individual. Most commonly, this term is used in relation to credit card fraud, though mortgage fraud, and also gaining access to the finances of a specified targeted person or a frame of a targeted person falls within what mass media reports of identity theft have included. Techniques for obtaining identification information range from the crude, such as stealing mail or rummaging through rubbish (dumpster diving), stealing personal information in computer databases, to infiltration of organizations that store large amounts of personal information. Horizon Bank is completely compliant with all the requirements of the GLBA (Gramm Leach Bliley Act) regarding nonpublic personal information, as well as Part 364, Appendix B of the FDIC Rules and Regulations.