Beware,
don’t be caught!
NB! We will never send you
a letter or e-mail requesting you to complete your
personal details by clicking on a webpage link in
an e-mail other than our home address www.nbctz.com
|
In view of recent media reports of fraudulent
e-mails being sent to customers of one of South Africa’s
major banks please take a moment to familiarize yourself
with the latest online security tips thereby ensuring that
you don’t fall victim to fraudsters.
This type of online fraud is known as “Phishing”
and is most commonly done through fraudulent e-mails (in
conjunction with a fake website), claiming to be from a bank
or other institution and asking you to confirm your personal
details. Fraudsters use various ways of enticing you (see
an example of phising e-mail below)
----Original
Message-----
From: ABC Bank [mailto:johndoe@abcbank.co.tz]
Sent: 17 May 2005 02:38 PM
To: peter@example.co.tz
Subject: ABC Bank Email Verification - peter@example.co.tz
Dear ABC Bank
Member,
This email was sent by the ABC Bank server to verify
your e-mail address. You must complete this process
by clicking on the link below and entering in the
small window your ABC Bank User ID and Password.
This is done for your protection
- because some of our members no longer have access
to their email addresses and we must verify it. To
verify your e-mail address and access your bank account,
click on the link below:
http://www.abc.co.tz/wjwwU3gcnUhkTrqcR9AmuEvaPKkmvqsegOptMRPAqYof9UecGDV0xoNa3f0s3cz0a2 |
The link in the phising
e-mail links to a fraudulent verification page similar to
the one below. Also be on the lookout for a genuine banking
website in the background which is often used to create
the illusion of authenticity:
Fraudsters use information
submitted via these fraudulent verification pages to use
credit cards for unauthorized purchases, clear out bank
accounts or sell the information to identity theft rings.
Here’s what to look
out for:
- Deceptive Subject
Lines:
These look as if they are genuinely related to the company
supposedly sending the e-mail.
- Forged Sender’s
Address:
An easy deception method to make the e-mail appear as
though it has come from the company it is claiming to
be.
- Genuine Looking
Content:
They copy images and text styles of the real sites in
order to fool the reader. Trusts and authentication marks
are duplicated and they may even have genuine links to
the company’s privacy policy and other pages on
the legitimate website to create an illusion of authenticity.
- Disguised hyperlinks:
E-mails may display a genuine website address, but when
you click on it, the hyperlink will take you to a different
website. Look out for a long website address as it will
take you to the site after the ‘@’ symbol.
Example:
http://www.genuine-site.com-name@fraud-site.com
If you clicked on this hyperlink it would take you
to http://fraud-site.com as it is after the @ symbol.
- E-mail Form
These forms containing your personal information are submitted
to remote computers, which the fraudsters access.
To make sure
you don’t get hooked during a fraudster’s phishing
expedition:
- Never submit your
personal details i.e. account number, PIN, Password or
Random Verification Number anywhere else than the official
NBC Internet Banking login page
- Never click on
hyperlinks within e-mails as the hyperlink that you are
linking to may be different to the one reflected in the
e-mail. Hyperlinks within e-mail can easily be masked.
- Rather type the
URL into your Internet browser address bar, or call the
company/bank that the
e-mail is addressed from on a number that you have verified
belongs to the company/bank.
- Use SPAM Filter
Software to reduce the number of fraudulent and malicious
e-mails you are exposed to.
- Use Anti-Virus
Software
- Use a Personal
Firewall.
- Keep Software Updated
(operating systems and web browsers)
- Always look for
"https://" and padlock on web sites that require personal
information. Although this does not guarantee that the
site you are entering is a genuine site or that it is
secure, the absence of these indicates that the web site
is definitely not secure.
- Keep your computer
clean and free of Spyware.
- Educate yourself
about fraudulent activity on the Internet.
- Check &
monitor your credit reports.
