Absa Phishing warning
Trends indicate that fraud tends to escalate towards the latter part of the year and Absa has urged its customers to remain informed and become increasingly vigilant so that they do not become victims of attempted phishing attacks.
“Bank customers should educate themselves about the modus operandi of fraudsters and adopt safe online banking practices in order to avoid falling prey to phishing scams,” says Gavin Opperman, CEO of Absa Retail Bank.
Phishing can be done over SMS, email or telephone, and the aim of the attacker is to obtain personal and banking details in order to gain access to your account.
Opperman cautions against a relatively new scam known as ‘SIM swapping’ whereby fraudsters illegally replicate cellular SIM cards in order to obtain the passwords that customers utilise when conducting online banking.
Absa offers the following tips to avoid being scammed:
- Keep your access information secure (account number, PIN and password).
- Ignore emails or SMSes if you are unsure of their source – especially where they may contain a link or attachment and claim to be from your bank.
- If an email is not addressed to you personally (e.g. Dear Mr Bloggs), it is likely to be a scam.
- Refrain from banking at public terminals such as Internet cafes.
- Only shop online and provide credit card details to reputable companies.
- Up-to-date anti-virus software and internet browsers reduce the risk of fraud. Absa provides this software free of charge to customers.
Absa also offers steps to access Absa internet banking in the safest way:
- Visit www.absa.co.za and click on the Internet Banking Logon button.
- Once at the Absa Internet Banking logon screen, check the browser address. It should begin with ‘https:’ (not ‘http:’).
- Ensure that you see a lock and key icon either at the top of the Internet browser window or at the bottom – depending on your browser type. This indicates a secure website.
- Once satisfied that you are on the valid website, you may continue to insert your logon details.
Loading ...