You have just received an urgent email from your bank notifying you of fraudulent activity.

It requests you confirm your banking details by clicking onto a designated link. The email states that this process is mandatory and failure may result in a temporary cessation of your account services pending submission.

The email looks real with your bank’s logo, text and images.

Don’t be fooled. These “phishing” emails are designed to steal your personal information. If you click on the link, you are redirected to a mirror of your own bank’s website which captures your logon and password details.

Ask yourself why would a bank contact you via email requesting details that they already possess?

If you receive a telephone call from someone purporting to be from your bank and requesting account and password details, do not respond. Immediately contact your bank. Do not use the telephone number the caller has provided.

Some emails also contain Trojans which monitor keystrokes, enabling criminals to access personal information, such as online banking passwords.

The Australian High Tech Crime Centre provides this advice:

• Never provide personal details including customer ID or passwords, in response to any e-mail. A bank will never ask you for your private password;
• Never click on a link or attachment in an email which purportedly sends you to a bank’s website. Only access your bank’s Internet banking logon page by typing the address into your browser;
• Be wary of any email from someone you do not know or trust – delete without opening any emails that you think are suspicious.
• Always check your statements for any transactions that look suspicious. If you see any transactions that you did not undertake, immediately report this to your bank.
• Most “phishing” e-mails do not address you by your proper name because they are sent out en masse to thousands of recipients. They sometimes contain typing errors and grammatical mistakes, even if they include the banks’ registered logos.
• Install software that will filter spam email or use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that will filter spam for you. Spam filters are often included in anti-virus software.
• Spam, or electronic junk email, is a Federal offence. If you have been a target of spam please contact the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) at www.spam.acma.gov.au .
• If you have responded to a “phishing” email, or if you have inadvertently entered your personal information on a fake website, contact your bank and police.
• For more information go to www.ahtcc.gov.au

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