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Stay vigilant against phishers
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Gone Phishing: Bank Scams Up 300%
Writes Dan Drage dan.drage@consumerchoices.co.uk
Cases involving an attempt by fraudsters to nefariously obtain people’s bank details tripled in the first three months of 2008.
During the first quarter of 2007, 3394 incidents of these so called ‘phishing’ scams were reported, compared with 10,235 in the first quarter of 2008.
Phishing involves the practice of con-artists sending unsolicited emails that ask the recipient to enter their bank details and security codes. Each incident involves fraudsters sending thousands of identical emails to computer users trying to make them believe it is a genuine request.
The methods employed by online scammers have become more sophisticated in recent months, and Fraudsters have become proficient in mimicking bank and building society websites.
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"Remember that your bank will never send you emails asking you to disclose pin numbers, login details or complete passwords"
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Sandra Quinn, Director of Communications at Apacs, has the following advice:
‘Remember that your bank will never send you emails asking you to disclose pin numbers, login details or complete passwords. If you receive an email of this nature you should delete it.’
This message has been heeded by many consumers, with the proportion of people ignoring such emails rising from 75% in 2006 to 82% last year. Online banking fraud losses were down from £33.5 million to £22.6 million across the same period.
Chris Eagle, Commercial Manager at Credit Choices, thinks we’re starting to get the picture:
‘Although the relentlessness of phishing scams as described in this report is unsettling, the trend for vigilance is somewhat encouraging. Consumers are becoming wise to the look and feel of these e-mails, and also recognising that their banks would never action such communication in the first place.’
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