George Smythe has joined First Reliance Bank as Senior Vice President Residential Lending Specialist. In his role, George is responsible for establishing and maintaining mortgage banking relationships with referral partners and clients in Charleston and the surrounding area.

“We are excited to have George join our team. George is esteemed in the Charleston market and brings over 40 years of banking experience to First Reliance. His relationships and connections will be invaluable to the growth of FRB Mortgage,” said Sarah Baldwin, SVP Retail Mortgage Sales.

“George is a great addition to our team. He is universally respected, operates with high integrity, and works tirelessly to advocate for his clients to find solutions to fit their mortgage needs. First Reliance Bank is as passionate about our customers as we are about the home loan products and services we offer. When you work with First Reliance Bank, our professional mortgage experts ...

This year, during October's Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the theme is "It's easy to stay safe online," where we are encouraged to focus on four key behaviors to stay safe online:

1. Enable multifactor authentication.
2. Use strong passwords and a password manager.
3. Update software (and keep it updated.)
4. Recognize and report phishing.

First, multifactor authentication allows you to protect yourself in multiple ways. MFA is sometimes called two-factor authentication or two-step verification. It is an important cybersecurity measure that requires you to prove your identity in numerous ways. Typically, this includes verifying your identity another way after entering your username and password. Examples include using a fingerprint or responding to a text message.

Second, establish strong passwords and use a password manager. Since passwords are the keys to your digital castle, regardless of which accounts they protect, create all passwords using three guiding principles:

• LONG (at least 12 characters long), ...