Bank Account Phishing Tricks You Should Know About

by Startacus Admin

Bank Account Phishing Tricks You Should Know About

Phishing scams are emails or phone calls by criminals aimed at stealing sensitive information from you so they could access your current accounts, savings accounts, business accounts or credit card. Up to 156 million phishing emails are sent every day. The fraudster pretends to be an authorized representative from your bank and usually wants you to click a web link in an email message or quickly verify or provide updates on some personal details like passwords, date of birth or credit card number.

At first glance, they may appear authentic, but on a closer check you will discover suspicious inconsistencies like grammatical error, improper spellings or differing URLs in that single mail. 

You must never click any web link in an email or text you suspect is a phishing message because they are embedded with malware that could download on your device and compromise your bank account security. When you receive a phishing call from a scammer pretending to be from your bank, network provider or the police, be careful not to give out your banking or other personal details to the unverified caller.

With more current accounts becoming online only it’s important to take care. For extra precaution, if you have not already done so, go to your email setting and adjust how you receive emails or what appears on your inbox. You could, for example, request that only messages from contacts and verified sources should show in your email, while the rest should be classified as junk.

You must also install security software on all your devices and report the phishing scam to the bank or organisation the fraudster pretends to represent.

Here are some phishing ways to spot a phishing message. 

The Message Wants You to Take a Quick Action

Most times, the scam email or call attempts to send you into panic by claiming your account has been suspended or closed and you need to confirm or update some details. It could tell you there has been some fraudulent activities that requires your immediate action. This, of course, could be a legitimate message from your bank, but, to be safe, never click on the web link. You could, instead, login directly into your bank verified account to check your account status.

The Email Asks for Your Personal Information
Banks and other reputable organizations will never ask you to provide or update any sensitive details via email or phone call.

The Message Says You Have Won a Contest You Never Entered For
This is a common trick by phishing scammers. Do not reply any message on click on any link telling you about a lottery win or some other prizes. Even if the lottery company or competition is not entirely strange to you, don’t respond to the call for action if you did enter for the contest or buy a lottery ticket.   

The Email Asks You To Make A Donation
As incredible as it may sound, con artists also send out email invitations telling recipients to donate to a worthy cause after a natural or other tragedy like earthquake, flooding and war.

It Contains Suspicious Attachments
Credible organisations will hardly send you an email with an attachment, except it is a document you have formerly requested for like your bank statement. Besides this, the rule is never to click the link or download as it could contain malware that will steal your details and enable the scammer to hack your bank account.

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• #bank phishing
• #security

Published on: 10th October 2016