Digital banking has, no doubt, significantly made the process of banking easier and way more accessible than it used to be. Gone are the days of standing in line at the bank, or for that matter, waiting for cash at the ATM. With just the click of a button, it is now possible to complete monetary transactions, in the comfort of your own home. However, the fact that it is being conducted on a virtual platform, leaves it vulnerable to all sorts of cyber theft, involving your money. One of the most popular and dangerous ones is known as phishing.
The term “phishing” is defined as an attempt made by an individual to get his or her hands on another individual’s bank username, password, PIN number, card number or any other such information, that should be kept confidential. The intent, of course, is to scam that person out of his or her money. The fraudsters usually take on the identity of a trustworthy figure, such as an official from the bank, where you have an account, and, since, the medium is electronic, the victim thinks that he or she has no way of verifying the claims made by the fraudster.
Usually, the victim will receive an e-mail from the phisher. In the e-mail, a false emergency situation will be cooked up, such as your card has been blocked due to back-to-back failed attempts to withdraw money from your account. The only solution will be to follow the directed steps, which means that you will have to click on the web link and be redirected to the website of the fraudster, which again looks very much like the official website. Here, you will be asked to enter your personal bank details and the moment you do so, you lose your money.
A few tips that you should keep in mind to secure yourself from phishers are as follows:
If someone has tried to pull this technique on you, inform the bank immediately. Show them the e-mail that you received or submit to them the number that called you. If you have divulged the details by mistake, get in touch with the local police department immediately and block your account. Keep the bank and the police in the loop, and change your bank passwords and PINs as soon as possible. Remember, no legitimate bank will ever ask for your confidential details over the phone or put you in a position, where you will have to recover your account online.
