Bank Welcomes AVP | Commercial Loan Officer, Czarnecki

Bank of Wisconsin Dells is pleased to announce the hiring of Eric Czarnecki as Assistant Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer at the Community Bank of Portage. Eric grew up in Mauston, WI and brings nearly 20 years of financial experience. He graduated from UW-La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in finance and earned his MBA from the University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium. 

Eric is relocating to the Portage area from Tomah, WI and is excited to immerse himself into the Portage business community through charitable events and participation in service organizations. In his spare time, Eric enjoys spending time with his family and staying active through running, tennis, pickleball and competing in pool tournaments.

Scheduled Lot Maintenance

Community Bank of Portage has scheduled parking lot maintenance beginning April 20th through April 30th.

During this time, all bank services will be available to customers during normal banking hours.

Thank you in advance for your patience.

Thinking About Refinancing Your Home Mortgage?

There are several reasons for refinancing your home mortgage to either save you money or to access the equity in your home. Is one right for your needs?

Read More

Using Caution with Email Attachments

While email attachments are a popular and convenient way to send documents, they are also a common source of viruses. Use caution when opening attachments, even if they appear to have been sent by someone you know.

Why can email attachments be dangerous?

Some characteristics that make email attachments convenient and popular also make them a common tool for attackers:

• Email is easily circulated – Forwarding email is so simple that viruses can quickly infect many machines. Most viruses do not even require users to forward the email—they scan a users' mailbox for email addresses and automatically send the infected message to all of the addresses they find. Attackers take advantage of the reality that most users will automatically trust and open a message that comes from someone they know.
• Email programs try to address all users' needs – Almost any type of file can be attached to an email message, so attackers have more freedom with the types of viruses they can send.
• Email programs offer many "user-friendly" features – Some email programs have the option to automatically download email attachments, which immediately exposes your computer to viruses within the attachments.

What steps can you take to protect yourself and others in your address book?

• Be wary of unsolicited attachments, even from people you know. Just because an email message looks like it came from someone you know does not mean that it did. Many viruses can "spoof" the return address, making it look like the message came from someone else. If you can, check with the person who supposedly sent the message to make sure it's legitimate before opening any attachments. This includes email messages that appear to be from your internet service provider (ISP) or software vendor and claim to include patches or antivirus software. ISPs and software vendors do not send patches or software in email.
• Keep software up to date. Install software patches so that attackers can't take advantage of known problems or vulnerabilities. Many operating systems offer automatic updates. If this option is available, you should enable it.
• Trust your instincts. If an email or email attachment seems suspicious, don't open it, even if your antivirus software indicates that the message is clean. Attackers are constantly releasing new viruses, and the antivirus software might not have the signature. At the very least, contact the person who supposedly sent the message to make sure it's legitimate before you open the attachment. However, especially in the case of forwards, even messages sent by a legitimate sender might contain a virus. If something about the email or the attachment makes you uncomfortable, there may be a good reason. Don't let your curiosity put your computer at risk.
• Save and scan any attachments before opening them. If you have to open an attachment before you can verify the source, take the following steps:
  1. Be sure the signatures in your antivirus software are up to date.
  2. Save the file to your computer or a disk.
  3. Manually scan the file using your antivirus software.
  4. If the file is clean and doesn't seem suspicious, go ahead and open it.
• Turn off the option to automatically download attachments. To simplify the process of reading email, many email programs offer the feature to automatically download attachments. Check your settings to see if your software offers the option, and make sure to disable it.
• Consider creating separate accounts on your computer. Most operating systems give you the option of creating multiple user accounts with different privileges. Consider reading your email on an account with restricted privileges. Some viruses need "administrator" privileges to infect a computer.
• Apply additional security practices. You may be able to filter certain types of attachments through your email software or a firewall.

Watch Out For Caller ID Spoofing Phone Calls

Your telephone can be a gold mine to scammers hoping to trick you into divulging personal information. Find out what you can do to prevent caller ID spoofing and why you should think before you talk.

Read More

Like us on Facebook

Bank of Wisconsin Dells
716 Superior Street
Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965