5+ Tips to keep Bank Accounts Safe from Hackers
Today its the world of Internet. It's an integral part of our daily life. We use it for several reasons like communication, searching for information, ticketing, social engineering and also for making payments. A Mumbai-based businessman was cheated of Rs 41 lakh after criminals hacked into his email account earlier this month. Like this we get several news around the globe that hackers stole the money from bank accounts, misused the credit cards and etc...,
There are several people on the internet called "Hackers" who are out to get your money by preying on your unsuspecting instincts. These Hackers use various methods to steal our money online. Here are the 5 common methods they used to hack the system and do fraudulent actions.
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| Hacker |
1. Email Spoofing : Everyone use email for work or personal use. This makes it one of the easiest methods to contact someone and lure him with fake schemes.The most common fraud emails include those about winning lotteries or a wealthy prince looking to invest money through you. Emails like these from people you don't know should be red flagged. These emails with attachments that can install spyware or viruses when you open the attachment. Banks never send emails to share your account number, password, credit card number and etc..,
Counter Measures :
# The simple way to be safe against email fraud is to neither download attachments nor send details to unknown senders.
# Do not share or register your email in public domains.
# Delete or mark the emails as Spam received from unknown sender.
# Install an Antivirus Software and be updated with latest virus definition.
2. Phishing Website : Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details and sometimes indirectly money, often for malicious reasons by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Most of the time it is the bank websites that get duplicated. They look exactly like the original and will ask you to input your LoginID and Password to proceed. If you provide these details, the creator of phishing website will use them to access your account. The easiest way to detect a fake bank website is to see the browser address bar. Check for "https:" in the website address bar. This means that the site uses a secure certificate and mostly all bank websites use this. In terms of Mobile Apps, check for the developer name which is usually written below the app name in the app store. Only download banking apps from the official app stores.
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| Email Spoofing |
Counter Measures :
# The simple way to be safe against email fraud is to neither download attachments nor send details to unknown senders.
# Do not share or register your email in public domains.
# Delete or mark the emails as Spam received from unknown sender.
# Install an Antivirus Software and be updated with latest virus definition.
2. Phishing Website : Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details and sometimes indirectly money, often for malicious reasons by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Most of the time it is the bank websites that get duplicated. They look exactly like the original and will ask you to input your LoginID and Password to proceed. If you provide these details, the creator of phishing website will use them to access your account. The easiest way to detect a fake bank website is to see the browser address bar. Check for "https:" in the website address bar. This means that the site uses a secure certificate and mostly all bank websites use this. In terms of Mobile Apps, check for the developer name which is usually written below the app name in the app store. Only download banking apps from the official app stores.
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| Phishing Website |
Counter Measures :
# Check for "https:" in the website address bar.
# View Security Certificate of website. In Mozilla Firefox, before the address bar we can see the name in green colour which indicates as secure website. We click that to view the security certificate of website.
# Enable "Two-Factor Authentication" for banking transaction.
# Update the Internet Browser to the latest.
# Always download Mobile Apps from app store in smartphones.
# Install an Antivirus Software and be updated with latest virus definition.
3. Keylogger : A keylogger is software installed on a computer that records each and every keystroke you do on the keyboard. A hacker can find your login details just by accessing the entire log of your key presses. Public internet cafes are an easy target to install these key loggers to get crucial information from unsuspecting users. There is essentially no way to detect if a keylogger is running in the background or not. Keylogger is not only a software, there are several hardware keyloggers available very cheap in the market which are installed in the computers.
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| Keylogger - Software |
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| Keylogger - Hardware |
Counter Measures :
# Use virtual keyboards and most of the bank websites have this.
# Regularly update the Operating System to the latest version,
# Use onscreen keyboard. In Windows -> Run -> osk
# Install an Antivirus Software and be updated with latest virus definition.
4. Fake Ads : Any advertising or promotion that misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of goods, services or commercial activities. If you see a product available at a price which is way below the regular asking price, it is bound to be some sort of scam. You can get discounts online, but when something is listed as 80% or 90% off the retail price, it's a red flag. Keep in mind that these products could also be stolen or imported products being sold. When you try to buy any product online, you are bound to share your bank account number, credit card details which are indirectly stolen by the hackers.
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| Fake Ads |
# Use Ad Blockers. Install adblocker addons to the browser.
# Try to purchase online in reputed e-commerce portal.
# Install an Antivirus Software and be updated with latest virus definition.
5 . Phone Scams : Every year, thousands of people lose money to telephone scams from a small amount to their life savings. Scammers will say anything to cheat people out of money.They use some special phrases like "You've been specially selected" | "You've won big money in a foreign lottery" | "We'll just put the shipping and handling charges on your credit card". No one from your bank will ever call and ask to share your account number, password, credit card number and etc.., There are many advertisements sent by banks to avoid this issue. Any call claiming to be from the bank and asking for bank details is a red flag. Smartphones are the biggest challenges today. Do not open the text message received from unknown sender. It may encrypted and causes damage.
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| Phone Scams |
# Do not share your Phone/Mobile number in public domain.
# Activate "Do not Disturb" facility to your number from service provider.
# Always download Apps from app store in smartphones.
# Install an Mobile Antivirus Software and be updated with latest virus definition.
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