Skip to main content

Do not answer to emails asking you to update Bank Account data

PHISHING is on the rise in India. A large number of bank account holders continue to lose money due to phishing attacks. According to IBM-X Force Trend and Risk Report 2010, which is based on the study of global networks, India tops the list when it comes to origins of phishing emails and has a global share of 15.5 per cent.


Although, the number of phishing emails originating in India is high, phishing URLs are mostly hosted in other countries. Banks and financial institutions are the main targets of fraudsters.

There have been phishing attempts at top private and government banks. A large section of customers of these banks got emails asking them to update their account details. Several customers of these banks responded to the mails and lost money. If you lose your money due to phishing, banks are not liable to pay back your money.

If a fraud has occurred because a customer compromised his password and personal details, a bank will not bear the loss of the customer. It is the job of the customer to protect his bank details.

How can you recognise a phishing mail? You would see a message in your inbox from your bank with which you have an internet-enabled account asking you to update your account with your personal information, passwords, usernames /login ID, ATM PINS and credit card details on the pretext of upgradation of server of the bank. You will be asked to click on a link. By clicking, you would be linked to a website that is identical to your bank. If you are smart enough, you would realise that this is a trap to get your vital information to make fraudulent transactions.

A few months ago, fraudsters in garb as officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) send emails to people asking them for their account details. The fraud came to light after people reported that they have received an email from the address update @rbi.org.in, which was suspicious.

The Cyber Emergency Response Team of India blocked the fake RBI website, while the RBI on its website alerted people not to fall prey to the phishing scam and alert the police and their bank if they have shared their bank details.


Simple steps to avoid falling prey to these scams: Most phishing emails come with a warning that if you don't give your personal information, your account will be deactivated. Always be suspicious of mails that ask for your personal information.

Do not click on the link provided in the email. If you closely observe, the link would be a fake URL with a fake email address for instance ICICI.bank@gmail.com, which is not the correct address of ICICI Bank, or sbicustomerservice @hotmail.com.

Do not give any confidential information such as password, customer identification number, credit/debit card number, personal identification number, date of birth to any email request, even if the request is from government authorities like the income tax department or any card association company such as Visa or MasterCard.

Do not open unexpected email attachments or instant message download links.

Always check the web address carefully before sharing any information.

For logging in, always type the website address of the bank on your web browser.

Ensure that you have installed the latest anti-virus or anti-spyware or personal firewall or security patches on your computer or high end mobile phones.

Do not access net banking or make payments using your credit/debit card from shared or unprotected computers in public places.

Do not call and leave any personal or account details on any telephone system, voice message, email or an SMS.

Do not transfer funds to or share your account details with unknown people.

If you smell something fishy, call the bank and the police.
 

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Your Cibil Credit Information Report

   WE ARE all familiar with the anxiety and uncertainty that we feel when applying for a loan. After all, it's the lender who decides whether we can own our dream home, our first car, or whether our children can pursue higher education. In a nutshell, a better life depends on the lender's decisions.    While other factors do play a part in the lender's decision, the Cibil Credit Information Report ( CIR ) plays a crucial role in a lender's decision to approve a loan application.    Previously, lenders would treat all loan seekers equally. Each applicant, if approved by the lender's internal credit policy, would be charged at the same interest rate for a particular loan size and purpose. The lenders would charge a higher interest rate to all the borrowers, in order to compensate for the possible default of a small portion of the loan disbursed. In other words, it's like a professor (the lender) punishing an entire class (borrowers) for the mischief played b...
Read more

What are the factors affect the changes in Interest Rate of Fixed Deposits?

  What are the factors affect the changes in rate of Fixed Deposits? Fixed Deposits are now considered to be a very old fashioned method of saving, but still attract many investors since they have guaranteed returns at the end of the tenure of the investment at a decent interest rate. There are various factors that affect the rates of interest for a Fixed Deposit. Policies of the Reserve Bank of India   - The several norms and restrictions posed by the Reserve Bank of India , in order to gain optimum control over credit and inflow and outflow of fund throughout the country. The repo rate changes, cash reserve ration tends to change and these changes affect the banking products like Fixed Deposits, loans etc. Recession   - When unemployment in a country crosses the benchmark set Recession hits, and slowly the country faces an economic slow movement, affecting the purchasing power of the people in the country, forcing the Reserve Bank of India to release more funds in the financial marke...
Read more

Capital Protection Oriented Funds

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   Capital Protection Oriented Funds   Erosion of capital is one of the key concerns for investors wanting to invest in equity mutual funds. To address this concern, asset management companies have launched Capital Protection Oriented Funds (CPOFs). What are CPOFs? CPOFs are generally three to five-year, closed-ended funds where 70-80% of the portfolio is invested in fixed income securities, which mature on or before the scheme's tenure. The investment in fixed income securities grows to 100% at the end of the tenure, providing the investor with capital protection. The remaining portion (20-30%) is used to take exposure to equity, which provides the upside. Exposure to equities is either by directly buying equity stocks (plain vanilla CPOFs) or by b...
Read more

Myths about Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

1) ETFs Are Similar to Individual Stocks: Like MFs, ETF consist of an underlying portfolio of securities that's designed to follow a specific index or investment strategy. Hence, they are as diversified as various mutual funds. 2) ETFs Only Invest in Equity: Since they are listed on the exchange, the general belief is that ETF only consists of equity asset class. Globally, ETFs are available across asset classes – equity, debt, commodities, real estate and so on. In fact, over the past couple of years, India has also seen the emergence of Gold ETFs. 3) All ETFs Are Index Funds: ETF started as a fund which used to track indices and hence they were branded as index funds that are listed. However, ETFs have progressed rapidly and are no longer associated only with passive index funds. Globally, we have seen the launch of actively-managed ETFs. In India, also we recently saw the emer gence of fundamentally-weighted ETFs on Nifty, which busts the myth that ETFs are index funds and can...
Read more

Mutual Fund Review: ING Dividend Yield

  ING Dividend Yield's small assets enable the fund manager to churn in impressive returns… Strategy The aim of the fund is to invest in stocks which offer a high dividend yield. This fund deploys a value based strategy which aims to gain from investing in fundamentally strong and free cash flow generating businesses. The scheme focuses not only on growth but also on the cash generated by the business, which mostly leads to stable returns even in volatile markets. This fund has a low volatility because of its investment in high yielding stocks. The scheme tries to include stocks that yield dividend above the dividend yield of the Nifty and stocks with liquidity, which throws up a universe of 150 stocks.   Our View Launched in October 2005, this fund invests at least 65 per cent of its assets in high dividend yield stocks. The fund has consistently maintained a mix of stocks across varying market capitalisation, with a higher tilt to mid caps compared to small caps. Howev...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now