E-government pays attention to phishing
Are you being ‘phished’? Have you recently received emails from anyone claiming they are from your bank and want personal details of your account? If the answer is yes then you have been ‘phished’!Email fraud, particularly “phishing” has been on the rise in Britain, so much so that banks and building societies have been forced to send out emails to customers warning them not to divulge account details and important personal information to anyone without proper verification.
With people working longer hours and having access to computers all day, online banking has become the norm, where the identity of a customer is no longer verified by a signature, but with a password or confidential personal details like birthdays, addresses and pin numbers.
Some 14 million people use online banking facilities in the UK.
Banks and building societies have taken recourse to sending out personalised letters to their customers warning them against divulging confidential details, and have devised their own methods of identifying themselves to their clients with various “proof of authenticity”.
Nationwide, one of Britain’s largest building societies also promised their customers that they “would never ask for confidential details or security information such as account details or Pin numbers in an email”.
“Nor would they direct customers to websites requesting similar details, or give out customer information to any other company”.
Identity fraud, with cheats and thieves donning another person’s identity to carry out online banking crime is rising rapidly, so much so that the government has sponsored a website to offer advice on various aspects of online security.
These include ways to stop viruses, how to block hackers, avoid spam email and safeguard against ‘phishing’. John Hutton, Cabinet Minister responsible for e-Government, explained: “The internet has become an essential tool for businesses and consumers, and has brought enormous benefits to our everyday lives, but we all know there are risks too.
That’s why we’re running the Get Safe Online campaign to make the internet a safer place to make financial transactions and exchange personal information”.
The government have also advised everyone not to discard banking papers, tax forms or any papers which include potential information which could be used in identity fraud in recycling boxes. They urge shredding of such papers to prevent cheats piecing together details.
The www.getsafeonline.org website is sponsored by the British government as well as leading banks and businesses and offers tips on how to protect yourself against ‘phishing scams’ and how to shop safely online.
posted by Unknown @ 11:32 AM
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