Bank Email Phishing Opportunities

This post was written by Internet Marketing John on April 7, 2012
Posted Under: Hacking
Email-Phishing

Email Phishing

Bank email phishing is a common method that hackers use to acquire personal information from online user’s accounts.

If you receive an email that looks like it’s coming from your bank, from MasterCard
or Visa, DO NOT click on any links until you call your bank or credit card provider about the message.

This weekend another processor data breach was reported by Global Payments Inc.

Global Payments Inc. who is a processor of Visa and MasterCard transactions, reported being hacked and that an estimated 1.5 million North American bank card users had been
affected.

As I stated in previous posts, anyone can be hacked for any reason.

In this particular instance, the data that was stolen appears to be names, credit card numbers, validation codes and enough personal information for hackers to clone a credit card and take over an individual’s identity.

If you have been affected by the hack, you will be contacted by your bank and be issued a
new credit card and account number.

Unfortunately, phishers take advantage of people who are concerned that their accounts were affected, by sending them emails requesting personal credit card data to “update” their account information.

When these situations occur, many people anxious about their credit card accounts will eagerly give up their information without first checking with their providers.

Bank email phishing opportunities will continue to occur as hackers refine their techniques and as they make the news, you can count on phishers to be on your doorstep trying to take advantage of the situation.

When you suspect an irregularity in your credit card statement or think your personal information has been compromised and your bank has not already contacted you by phone, call them directly to check on the discrepancy.

Do not reply to any bank email query.  Call them if you have not been officially notified and reference the email.

When Global Payments Inc. reported the number of credit card accounts were affected, they did not specify the number of transactions that could have been compromised.

This number is probably much higher than what was actually reported.

So far the cause of Global Payments’ breach has not been identified however, some believe that the breach was caused by improper employee security that may have lead to a malware insertion in their network.

Although this is just speculation, the main causes of hacks with U.S. companies is negligence and malicious malware attacks.

Although there is nothing you can do about a third party payment processor, you can take steps to keep your personal computer safe.

Phishers flood email accounts with messages that look like they are being sent from your bank but your bank will never ask you for your username and password.

Use common sense when opening your emails.

You can keep your transactions on the web more private by creating an isolated desktop.

An isolated desktop prevents other applications from running and “seeing whats happening” when you are working with sensitive transactions.

For secure shopping, stock trading and banking transactions, this is a perfect solution.

Several antivirus programs are available online that provide this feature.

Avast antivirus among others has a free download available and several others offer a free trial period that allow you to test their programs.

Although bank email phishing opportunities will probably never be totally eliminated, you can reduce their effectiveness by understanding how bank email phishing works and what steps can be taken to recognize and prevent it from happening to you.

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