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ARTICLES > Internet Scams - Beware of Phisher-men.

Internet Scams - Beware of Phisher-men.


EVERYONE who uses the internet needs to be wary of scams.  They have become so subtle and convincing that anyone can be sucked in by them - and they have!

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Here’s some thing you need to know about Phishing. Logo Green X-small.jpg
Maybe you received one of these emails or something similar?
  Dear Valued Customer,

During our regularly scheduled account maintenance and verification procedures, we have detected
a slight error in your account profile.

This might be due to either of the following reasons:

1. A recent change in your personal information (i.e. change of address).
2. Submitting invalid information during the initial sign up process.
3. An inability to accurately verify your selected option of payment due to an internal error within our processors.

Please update and verify your information.:

To re-set your security please click on your accounts below.....		  

My inbox was recently overrun with this particular email – about three a day for a week or so. They purported to come from KiwiBank but they don’t. They are an attempt by internet fraudsters to get a hold of my bank details.  It's not KiwiBank's fault, they are just using them as a front.  And I've received similar emails pretending to come from various other banks.

This process is known as phishing.

Phishing is the name given to the practice of sending emails at random purporting to come from a genuine company operating on the Internet. It is an attempt to trick the receiver into disclosing information at a false website operated by fraudsters. These emails usually claim that it is necessary to "update" or "verify" your customer account information and they urge people to click on a link within the email which takes them to a bogus website. Any information entered on the bogus website will be captured by the criminals for their own fraudulent purposes.

Of course, many of the emails go to people who are not customers of the particular company that the fraudsters are hiding behind but it would appear that enough people are duped into giving information to make the hoax worth their while.

► Avoid being a victim.

The internet contains a lot of hints and tips on how to avoid being the victim of a scam like this. Just type “phishing” into Google and you will find a number of useful websites.

The key thing to remember is,

•  although your bank may occasionally contact you by email, they will NEVER ask you to disclose or reconfirm your login or security password information by clicking on a link in an email and visiting a web site.
•  furthermore, any communication from your bank will almost always address you by name and not a simple, “Dear Client” or “Dear Customer.”

If in doubt, the obvious thing is of course to phone the bank or company the email says it was sent from.  Just remember the cardinal rule; NEVER give out any account details or pin-numbers to people you do not know to be bona-fide.

To read our Resource Centre article - Should I go Guarantor on a Loan?  Click here

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