Exclusive URL extension gives customers an enhanced level of security

As part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Gorham Savings Bank transitioned its website URL from “GorhamSavingsBank.com” to “GorhamSavings.bank” on Monday, Oct. 30.

Dot-bank TLD (top-level domain) extensions are only available to verified financial institutions that are chartered and supervised by a state or national government agency; and to use one, banks must comply with strict security requirements. Under the hood, the dot-bank extension comes with enhanced encryption and other security features for financial institutions. And for consumers, seeing a URL ending in .bank verifies that you are truly on a bank’s official website and not a fraudulent phishing site.

The dot-bank extension represents a powerful anti-fraud tool at a time when more customers and businesses are conducting the bulk of their financial transactions online. Maximizing its effectiveness, though, involves two things: 1.) increased bank adoption; and 2.) increased public awareness of what a .bank URL means. Both indicators are trending up. In March, The Federal Reserve System reported that more than 2,400 U.S. banks and savings associations had registered nearly 4,900 dot-bank domain names, and more than 300 of these domain names were actively being used.

Gorham Savings Bank, an early adopter of other advanced banking technologies including Maine’s first ITMs, is committed to spreading local awareness of the dot-bank system. “We want our customers to have peace of mind when banking online,” said Chris Emmons, president and CEO of Gorham Savings Bank. “When they conduct financial transactions on GorhamSavings.bank, they’ll know it’s us – Gorham Savings Bank.”

The transition to GorhamSavings.bank comes on the heels of Gorham Savings Bank’s Security Day, Oct. 21, when the bank rolled large SecureRMS trucks in to its Scarborough and Gorham branch parking lots and invited community members to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft by properly disposing of sensitive documents.

“Data security is one of the most important things we provide our customers,” Emmons said.