Although there is no cause for alarm, we want you to be informed about the problem of identity theft. The incidence of identity theft involving financial institutions has been increasing, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have focused their attention on this topic. The FTC broadly defines identity theft as “committed or attempted fraud using a person’s identifying information without authority to do so.” The most damaging form of identity theft occurs when a new credit or type of account is opened in a consumer’s name without their knowledge. This type of activity is difficult to detect and time-consuming to correct unless uncovered early. We want you to be aware of this problem, and to take appropriate precautions.

Many of our clients utilize email and other electronic means of communication to correspond with us and with their brokers and custodians. Some clients enjoy the convenience of online access to their brokerage accounts. The ease of communication made possible by these technologies and the difficulty of determining who is on the other side of electronic communications make it possible that people with criminal intent will attempt to abuse the technology to further their criminal enterprise.

It is easy to forge email messages, masking the identity of the sender and making it appear as if are sent by a legitimate entity. Please remember that Geneva will never ask you to reply to email requests for your social security number, brokerage account information, log-in names or passwords, or any other personal identifying information. If you ever receive an email request for such information which appears to emanate from Geneva, you should telephone us immediately (using the phone number in your rolodex not the one given in the email message), rather than replying electronically. This precautionary measure will minimize the likelihood that your personal information will wind up in the wrong hands.

For more information about identity theft, and what to do if you run into trouble, please refer to the SEC publication entitled “Online Brokerage Accounts: What You Can Do to Safeguard Your Money and Your Personal Information.”  (by utilizing this link you will leave the Geneva website). 

Because Geneva maintains confidential client information in the normal course of our business, we also diligently protect this information for our clients. Geneva’s Privacy Notice outlines the type of information we collect as well as our practices to safeguard client information. We would also like to let you know that Geneva maintains comprehensive day-to-day procedures to protect confidential information. We employ both physical and system safeguards to help prevent identity theft.