Beat the Phishers before they Hook into you
Sage advice prepared by the Montagu Community
Police Forum
What is phishing? In a nutshell, it is a technique used to gain personal information for
purposes of identity theft (almost like fishing), using fraudulent e-mail
messages that appear to come from legitimate business as ‘bait’.
These
authentic-looking messages are designed to fool recipients into divulging
personal data, such as account numbers and passwords or credit card numbers.
Most
messages imply a sense of urgency or an immediate risk to bank accounts or
credit cards if you fail to answer, in order to increase the chances of a
response. Sometimes special offers and prizes may also be promoted as
incentives.
The
scammers have become better impostors, incorporating phrasing and wording into
the e-mail that the bank’s customers would be familiar with from previous
authentic advisories. These hoax e-mails containing every single psychological
ploy - from shocking, luring, scaring and threatening, are used by scam artists
to get their potential victims to fall in line.
Under
no circumstances should you click on the link provided in the e-mail, as you
will be taken to a phoney scam site or possibly a pop-up window that resembles
the bank’s official website.
Always
remember: No bank will ever send you unsolicited e-mails asking for
confidential information such as your password, PIN, access code, credit card
and account numbers.
No
bank will ever ask you to validate or restore your account access through
e-mail or pop-up windows.
Helpful
Hints on how to safeguard your self
against internet fraud: Keep
your access information secure (account number, user number, and all PIN
numbers and passwords). Ensure that you see a lock icon either at the top of
the internet browser window or at the bottom - depending on your browser. Install
- and regularly update - the latest anti-virus software. Change your PIN number
and password regularly.
Stay
safe
Have your say
montagumail@compuservices.co.za