Employer Update

Staying safe and secure online and protecting personally identifying information requires partnership. Just as you work to safeguard employees’ data, VRS also takes measures every day to keep members’ information secure.

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month—observed every October—offers a chance to engage employees and help them focus on their role in online security.

Claim Online Accounts

An important but often overlooked way VRS members can help protect themselves from identity theft involving their VRS benefits is to register for their myVRS accounts and, if applicable, their defined contribution accounts through Account Access.

By registering their online accounts, completing the identity-verification steps and then establishing a password-protected account, members are helping prevent someone else from laying claim to the account fraudulently.

VRS automatically locks all myVRS accounts if not registered within 90 days of hire date. A member who needs to establish their account after it has been locked, should call VRS at 888-827-3847. Members who have registered but not accessed their myVRS account in the last 90 days will be required to reset their password to log in.

NOTE To strengthen account security, members are encouraged to provide VRS their current contact information, including mobile number and personal email address.

Bookmark the VRS Security Center

The Security Center provides practical tips to help employees protect themselves online and to avoid falling victim to fraud. Share these tips with employees as part of your efforts to promote security awareness.

Make Security an Everyday Focus

The National Cyber Security Alliance maintains StaySafeOnline, a hub for promotional materials and resources related to National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and STOP.THINK.CONNECT., a global online safety partnership of private companies, nonprofits and government organizations. Both sites include fact sheets, infographics, research reports, tip sheets and videos you can pass on to employees as you emphasize the vital role they play in cybersecurity.

Video: Do Your Online Security Habits Pass the Test?

VRS Director Patricia Bishop offers online security tips for members.