How to Avoid Online Banking Scams

Sometimes, it’s difficult for us to spend the money that we worked hard for.

And it’s even more horrible and unacceptable to lose money because you were scammed or some fradaulent entities have stolen your identity or have gotten your bank account details.

Scammers are everywhere these days that’s why it’s very important that we take extra care for our personal information online and be more cautious especially when making transactions on the internet.

3 Things You Need to Know About Online Banking Scams or Fraud and How they get your information

1. Phishing

• It is an attempt to acquire your financial information via email by pretending to be a trustworthy entity.
• These emails ask you to “Verify your account” or to “Confirm your billing information” pretending to come from your own bank
• They may also threaten that the service will be discontinued if you don’t respond

2. Vishing

• This is similar to Phishing but the medium is your cellphone
• You may receive an automatic call informing you about unusual account activity and ask you to call back a particular number
• If you call back that number, you will be asked for your account information and may request certain other key entries
• If you respond to these requests and reveal your financial information, your account can be accessed and misused

3. Malware

• This is a collective name for malicious software and viruses, that aims to carry out malicious activities.
• They may be in a form of pop-ups or software tools that promise to solve your pc problems.

10 TIPS On How to Spot an Online Banking Scam

1. If you were contacted out of the blue or through an unsolicited email or text message
2. If you’ve never heard or joined a raffle or competition they are talking about
3. If they make promises that sound too good to be true
4. If they ask you to pay for something up-front or to send money in advance
5. If they ask you to make a quick decision or put you under pressure so you have no time to decline
6. If they ask you to share your personal details including your bank account

7. If they tell you an offer has to be kept secret or that you have to keep quiet
8. If there are grammatical or spelling errors
9. If the website address or domain name looks or sounds similar to a brand or product name, but actually one or two letters were interchanged or a dash was added.
10. If they give a vague company address, or no contact number in their website or they provide a contact number that’s not accessible or cannot be reached.

9 TIPS On How to Avoid Online Banking Scams or Fraud

1. Install reliable and up-to-date anti-virus and internet security especially for Windows PC users
2. Ensure that you type the correct website address or domain name. *Most banks usehttps://
3. If you see a message like “checking security settings”or any unusual behavior on the screen during log-in, CLOSE the browser immediately!
4. Do not add your online banking links to your list of Favorites
5. Do not save your User ID and Password in auto-fill mode
6. Avoid accessing your bank account from a public computer or unsecured wireless network.

If you do, never leave it unattended when logged in and always log out properly when you’ve finished your banking session.

7. Avoid posting personal information such as your email address, date of birth and phone number on social network websites such as Facebook and Twitter to reduce the risk of identity theft.

Only accept friend requests from people you know. Someone posing as an interesting person asking to become friends may actually be an ID thief.

Check your privacy settings carefully and make sure only people you trust can view your profile.

8. PASSWORD REMINDERS

Create unique password for each account. Change it from time to time. Avoid names or birthdays. Use a mixture of lower and upper case letters, numbers and symbols.

This vastly increases the difficulty of guessing or cracking your password.

Keep it to yourself. Don’t tell anyone about it. Write it down on your notebook, but just use acronyms or hints.

9. Regularly check your bank account and statements for suspicious transactions.

If you spot something “fishy” or unfamiliar, report it to your bank or card provider as soon as you can.

Banks never send mails asking for confidential information like account number, ATM PIN or password.

If you’re not sure about this, call your bank or card provider immediately to confirm if the email or text message that you received were sent by them or forward the email to their customer service.

You can also search for similar issues or emails on google to find out if other people had the same problem. Read reviews not just from one site, but from various sites to verify its validity and reliability.

If you think something might be a SCAM, pause, take it easy, read it carefully if it’s an email, but don’t reply! Hold your horses!

If you confirmed that it’s a scam, report it immediately and delete it completely from your mailbox.

Then run your antivirus or internet security software to make sure your pc is clean and safe from malicious software.

Be aware. Be cautious. And always “Think before you click!”