What is PassMark?
PassMark provides you added safety by helping ensure that only you can access your online banking account. Your PassMark is a picture and caption that is a shared secret between you and the Credit Union. When you see your PassMark you can be confident you are at the legitimate website.
Make sure you see your PassMark before you enter your password.

Why do I need a PassMark?
PassMark is an enhanced security feature that helps protect you while you access your online account. On the Internet today, fraudsters attempt to steal your identity by impersonating the websites you trust. We are committed to proactively protecting you, our member, against such attacks. PassMark helps us do this.

How does it work?
When you enroll in PassMark, you will select a secret picture and caption known only to you. Whenever you log in we will show you this picture so you can rest assured that you are accessing the real banking site and not a fraudulent site.

We also check the computer(s) or device(s) that you are using to access the website. Typically you will access the website from one or two computers, such as your work and home machine. PassMark remembers your computer. Should you need to log in from a different computer, such as an Internet café, we will take additional steps to verify your identity, such as ask you to provide the answer to secret questions we both know the answers to.

PassMark remembers your computer by assigning a unique identifier to each computer you use to access our website using standard secure (encrypted) cookies. The cookie is used to store the identification information only. No personal or private data is stored in any way.

How is PassMark more secure?
PassMark protects you from accidentally revealing your username and password to a fraudulent site. In addition, if someone does somehow get your username and password, they will still not be able to access your account because they are not at your registered computer.

What keeps somebody from stealing my PassMark picture?
We only show you your PassMark picture and caption if you log in from your own computer, or after you have answered a secret question. So it is not possible for an unauthorized person to get access to your picture.

Why am I being asked a question when I try to log in?
We ask you a secret question when we detect that you are trying to log in from a new computer. This is to prevent someone with stolen passwords from logging into your account. Since only you know the answer to the questions, we will know it’s really you. Generally you will be asked to answer a secret question only when you log in for the first time from a new computer. After you answer the question, you will be asked whether we should remember this computer for future logins. If you are using a personal computer, you should answer yes. If you are using a public terminal, you will want to answer no.

Can I access my account from multiple computers?
Yes, you can still access your account from any number of computers. If you log in from a new computer or a public terminal, you will just need to go through one extra step of answering a secret question. This helps protect you by keeping unauthorized people from accessing your valuable information. There is no limit on how many different computers you can use to log in to your account.

I am not an Internet expert. How easy is PassMark to use?
PassMark is extremely simple for anyone to use. You don’t need to memorize anything new — just use the site as usual and look for your PassMark at login.

I share my computer with someone who has their own account. Can both of us still log in from this machine?
Yes, you can both use the same computer to log into your individual online banking accounts. There is no limit on how many people can log into the online banking website from the same computer.

What happens if someone steals my password? How will PassMark keep them from accessing my account?
When someone tries to log-in using your stolen user name and password, we will recognize that they are logging in from a different computer, and ask them a secret question. Since only you know the answers to your secret questions, they will not be able to give a correct answer. They will not be able to log in.

Can I change my PassMark picture and caption?
Yes, you can change your PassMark picture and caption (passphrase) at any time.

How do you know I am logging in from my own computer?
When you log in for the first time from a new computer, we put a secure (encrypted) cookie on your computer. This cookie contains a randomly generated unique number that identifies your computer. The cookie is visible only to the online banking website and does not contain any of your personal information. When you log in after that, your web browser sends us this cookie. This lets us know that this is your computer.

What is Phishing?
Recently there have been attempts by fraudsters to trick people into revealing their personal information, such as passwords, by creating fake websites that look very much like the sites of legitimate financial institutions. They send out emails randomly with links to these fake websites. This phenomenon is called Phishing, (pro­nounced “fishing”). More info can be found in the Security Center on our website here.

I am trying to log in from my own computer, but the website is not showing me my PassMark. Instead, it is asking me a question. What is happening?
This might happen in rare cases if you have deleted all cookies on your computer. Before answering a secret question or entering your password, make sure that you are going to the legitimate online banking website. The easiest way to ensure this is by typing the URL (www.sierracentral.com) directly into your web browser and then click on the PCU Login link from there. Then, after you answer the security question, you should see your secret PassMark next to the password field. If your PassMark is there, you can be confident that you are at the legitimate website and can enter your password.