This is a Department of Defense (DOD) Computer
System. This computer system, including all related equipment, networks, and network devices
(specifically including Internet access), is provided only for authorized U.S. Government use. DOD
computer systems may be monitored for all lawful purposes, including to ensure that their use is
authorized, for management of the system, to facilitate protection against unauthorized access, and
to verify security procedures, survivability, and operational security. Monitoring includes active
attacks by authorized DOD entities to test or verify the security of this system. During monitoring,
information may be examined, recorded, copied and used for authorized purposes. All information,
including personal information, placed or sent over this system may be monitored.
Use of this DOD computer system, authorized or unauthorized, constitutes consent to monitoring
of this system. Unauthorized use may subject you to criminal prosecution. Evidence of
unauthorized use collected during monitoring may be used for administrative, criminal, or other
adverse action. Use of this system constitutes consent to monitoring for these purposes.
Protecting Your Computer
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) uses state-of-the art technology to help
protect your personal information and data on myPay. As a customer of myPay
there are also certain actions you should take to help protect your personal information from
scams and identity theft.
Here are some quick reminders of how to keep your myPay secure:
- Whenever possible, do not use a public computer or Kiosk system to access
myPay. Using a public system places you at greater risk for compromise of your
myPay account. Even connecting via a public Wifi network exposes information to possible
theft.
- Install operating system and application software updates (e.g. Internet
browsers Edge and Google Chrome; Adobe Flash, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Java) regularly.
Many of these updates are issued to fix identified security problems. Please visit the
vendor’s websites for more information.
- Install, use and keep antivirus software and personal
firewalls including antivirus signatures up-to-date. The correct use of
these programs can help protect your system from being compromised by malicious software.
- Do not store user-IDs and passwords on your computer or smartphone. If
someone gains access to your device, the accounts will likely be compromised.
- After accessing your myPay account, close all of your Internet
browser windows. Sometimes the browser will store session information in memory
that other web sites may be able to access. Also purge cookies before and after use at a
kiosk or public system.
- Be very careful when installing software, browser plug-ins or extensions that could give
others access to your computer. Remote service software or peer-to-peer software used for
file sharing can create unintended openings into your computer that outsiders can exploit.
- Do not e-mail personal or financial information. E-mail is not a secure
method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to
provide your personal and financial information through a website, look for indicators that
the site is secure such as an image of a lock or lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a
web site address that begins “https:” ( the “s” stands for “secure”).
- DFAS does not send e-mail messages asking customers to update or validate information. We do
send e-mail messages that provide important information about your pay account. We NEVER ask
for customers to send passwords, login names, Social Security numbers, or other personal
information through e-mail unless we are responding to you. If you are ever in doubt of the
e-mail source, we do not recommend that you click on links sent in the e-mail. You can
always type in the URL for myPay manually or use a trusted search engine (e.g. Google, Yahoo
or Bing) to search for the myPay Web site and use the most trusted result.
Financial institutions will always be a target for Internet scams. Knowing the signs can keep
your identity a lot safer. Here are two of the most commonly used attacks to obtain
financial/personal data.
- Keylogging: The action of tracking (or logging) the keys struck on a
keyboard, in a covert manner so that the person using the keyboard is unaware that their
actions are being monitored. Keylogging software is often installed on systems when an
individual views e-mails or clicks links that appear to be reputable sites. This software is
then used by thieves to steal account information from home computers by capturing the
user’s keystrokes.
- Phishing: The use of e-mails that appear to originate from a trusted source
to trick a user into taking action like clicking a malicious link, or opening an infected
attachment. These criminals will attempt to lure you to disclose account numbers, log in
information, passwords, at the fake website.
You trust DFAS to ensure myPay protects your information. Make sure your actions online don’t
give the criminals the tools to get around that security. Whether it be phishing, keylogging,
identity theft, government e-mail scams, credit card offers, or electronic commerce fraud there
are scammers on the Internet who are very creative and constantly come up with new scams or
variations on old scams. The best way to protect your personal information is to fight these
attacks with knowledge.
You can learn how protect yourself online at websites such as the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI.
