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19 May 2005
Standard Bank has shut down a phony Internet site that had been set up by fraudsters to obtain customers' banking details.
The bank established early today that a fraudulent e-mail was being circulated, attempting to obtain customers' Internet passwords, card numbers and PIN details.
"Our early security detection systems alerted us to the attack and we immediately took action to close down the phony site and to alert our customers of the threat," says Herman Singh, Director Technology Engineering at Standard Bank.
The fraudulent e-mail, which targets banking customers, is identical to the one detected by FNB earlier this week.
The fraudulent e-mail directs customers to the phony internet site where customers are requested to "update" or "validate" their banking details.
The bank will never request customers, through e-mail, to provide it with confidential banking details. Concerned customers can contact the bank's customer contact centre on 0860 123 000.
Standard Bank has proactive security measures in place that constantly monitors internet activities of this nature. To date the bank has detected and shut down more than 50 fraudulent internet sites.
"We take internet security seriously and are constantly looking at new and innovative ways to improve our security measures. We strongly encourage our customers to make use of two of the bank's enhanced security services. These are: register for "my notifications" which is an e-mail and sms early notification system; and to use the free anti-virus and firewall offering," says Singh.
Should customers receive unsolicited e-mails, Standard Bank advises:
- The safest approach is to immediately delete emails from unknown sources, before opening the email.
- Never reply to an email requesting personal information such as your user ID and/or password.
- Avoid clicking on any links in unsolicited email, particularly emails that ask (either directly or by pointing to a Web site) for personal, financial, or identity information. Instead, directly type the Web site destination into your browser or use a trusted bookmark to verify the site or to log into your account directly.
- If you receive an email that warns you, with little or no notice, that an account of yours will be shut down unless you reconfirm your information, do not reply or click on the link in the email.
Here is more about secure banking.
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