Bank Internet Fraud: How to Protect Yourself

It is true that bank internet fraud is on the rise because of the advancements in the field of technology. And this in turn is the result of online banking which is yet another feather in the cap of technology and the ways in which it is used in our daily lives. More and more people are opting for online banking these days as it not only saves valuable time but the banks too are offering this service as it saves on their man power. However, although the banks are very careful regarding the protection of their client’s assets, the offenders have managed to find a way around the tight security.

There are usually two kinds of methods applied by the offenders when they try to get hold of the user’s account number and password and try to break into their account. Once that is done, the money from the account is transferred into another account, which they try to make it as untraceable as possible. Or else, it is used to make fraudulent purchases for which the innocent user is victimized and convicted.

The “Phishing” Scheme: This word is coined by using the two words “password” and “fishing”. The offenders send scam e-mails and letters to the users in the name of the bank in an attempt to retrieve the users account number and password along with other information like social security number, insurance number etc. The best way to protect yourself is not to reply to these e-mails and check with the bank personally to find out whether an e-mail has been sent or not. This may take up a bit of your time but it better to double check than be sorry later.

The “Trojan Horse” Scheme: This is another method employed by the offenders for fraudulent internet activities. Malicious software are sent to the user’s computer as attachments in e-mails as anti-virus software and the like, and once installed they send back the data and other information from the user’s computer to the offender’s computer, once the user logs into his bank account using his username and password. Users using public computers from cyber cafes are at higher risk of falling victim to identity theft. According to the FBI, nearly one million computers in America are infected by this kind of software and the users are not even aware of it until it’s too late.

The best way to avoid such scams is to be very careful regarding who you are sharing your personal information with. Keep changing your password at regular intervals and keep checking your account details even if you are sure that no one else has access to it.