Banks are one of the most trusted institutes. But what happens when scammers and hackers impersonate as banks and try to steal information and empty bank accounts? These ten rules will protect you.
A simple trip to the ATM could become a horror story, if a hacker were able to invade and steal personal information, leading to an empty bank account. Can this be avoided? Of course. Protect yourself from online bank scams by following these 10 rules:
1. Check the sender’s email address.
When you receive an email that claims to be from the bank, check the sender’s email. Many times you will see something like “Bank of America” in the sender name, but if you dig deeper and look at the email address, you could find a fake email address. The best way is to go to an email you KNOW 100% is from your bank, and compare the email and sender names of both emails.
2. Call the bank to authenticate a legitimate looking email
If you got an email with a subject line about a loan, your paycheck or a sum of money you acquired, and you think it could be real - call the bank. They will be able to authenticate if it’s legit.
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3. Lookout for "urgent" bank emails
Any emails from the bank with the word “urgent” in the subject line, need to raise a red flag. Hackers use urgency to try and get you to act fast, without realizing it’s a scam. If it’s truly urgent, the bank will call you.
4. Don't login to your bank from public Wifi
DO NOT login to your bank account or transfer funds when you’re in a public space. Wifi can be easily hacked. Save your arrangements for when you get home, and avoid connecting to your bank account from places like coffee shops. Not only could your personal information be hacked, someone could be looking over your shoulder.
5. Hover over a link to see the actual URL it leads to.
One very clever tactic used by hackers is putting a link as text in the email but hyperlinking the text somewhere else. Look, for example, how we can type www.google.com but when you click this, you will get to YouTube. Pretty smart, right? To make sure you are going to your bank site, type out the link. It takes a few seconds longer, but it’s worth it.
6. Keep a strong password and change it often
Keep a strong password for your online bank account and change it often. If you get emails that urge you to update your password for your bank account, don’t click! Login yourself to your bank account, if your password needs to be reset, you’ll see a message there.
7. Beware of fake PayPal emails
Emails that look like they are from Paypal claiming that you have a payment waiting are suspicious. If you are not an online shop or business owner, there is hardly any reason someone should be transferring you a payment via PayPal. Go directly (not from the email) to your PayPal account and check there.
8. Look out for spelling mistakes
In the image below 1at first glance, it looks legit, right? When looking closely, you’ll notice the words “received” and “discrepancy” are misspelled. Real Banks don’t have spelling mistakes.
9. Browse with protection
Take caution when browsing online, keep your software up to date and use a safety tool like Guardio that will detect and alert you about phishing sites pretending to be banks.
10. Keep track of your bank statements.
Keep track of your online and offline messages from the bank. Make it a daily or weekly follow up routine to keep track. If anything looks suspicious, call the bank immediately. Always better safe than sorry.
Found these tips useful? Share them with your loved ones to keep them safe too.
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If you have any questions about online scams and threats, we’re more than happy to talk and assist. You can contact us at yourfriends@guard.io
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