Online banking: How to stay safe

By lovemoney.com , Sep 7, 2012
Filed under: Scams & Fraud

If you bank online, follow these top tips to keep your money safe from fraudsters.

Here are the common online banking scams:

Staying Safe Online

Crime

Phishing
Phishing involves sending hoax emails which attempt to extract your bank details and personal security data. Often the sender will claim to be from your own bank and will ask you to verify your current account details by clicking on a link. But this link actually takes you through to a fake website which looks exactly like your bank's own site. Once you have inputted your details they are available to the fraudsters who set the fake site up.

Staying Safe Online

Crime

Vishing
Vishing is where the fraudsters cold call you, pretending to be from your bank's fraud or security department. They'll claim that a suspicious transaction has been flagged up or that you may be due a refund. They are attempting to gain your trust in an effort to glean more of your personal details, and even your passwords.

Text phishing
Much like phishing, but this time with the use of a text message. The text will be designed to try to trick you into sharing some personal information with the fraudsters.

Malware
Malware - or malicious software - is a computer virus which can be installed on your PC without you even realising it. Fraudsters will encourage you to open an email attachment, but in doing so you'll have unwittingly unleashed a Trojan virus which can monitor your PC activity, allowing fraudsters to steal your passwords and other personal information.

Money mules
Where the perpetrator is based abroad it can be very difficult to move the proceeds of fraudulent activity in the UK back to the perpetrator's country. This is where a money mule comes in.

Fraudsters usually make contact by email and try to persuade you to accept money into your bank account for a seemingly legitimate reason. You are then asked to wire the funds overseas, sometimes in return for a fee. Money mules can be prosecuted even if they weren't aware the transaction was illegal.

Top tips for protecting against online banking fraud
Now you've got a good idea of what typical online banking scams look like, let's take a look at the best ways of protecting yourself against them with these top tips:

Always install up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall to protect your PC.
Always download the latest security updates for your system.
Always set your browser at the highest level of security notification.
Delete suspicious emails immediately.
Treat all emails claiming to be sent from your bank with caution, even if they appear legitimate.
Remember your bank will never ask for your login details or personal security data by email.
Never open an email attachment from an unknown source.
Don't open an attachment from someone you know unless you're expecting to receive it. Their PC could have been taken over without them knowing.
Scam emails often ask you to click a link which takes you through to a fake website. This may look identical to your bank's own website - don't fall for it.
If you think you might have received a scam email, report it to reports@banksafeonline.org.uk.
Only complete online transactions where the URL in the address bar says 'https' and not just 'http'. The 's' stands for secure.
Never reveal your passwords or your PIN to anyone.
Never leave your PC unattended when you're logged into an online banking service.
Check your accounts regularly for suspicious activity. Alert your bank immediately if you come across a potentially fraudulent transaction.

A safe way to bank online
Our MoneyTrack service is a great way to manage your money, as it keeps all your bank accounts and credit cards in one place, allowing you to keep track of your income and expenditure easily. In other words, the days of managing multiple account details are over. With our service everything is in one place, with one set of details.

It enables you to monitor your accounts frequently. That way you can spot any transactions you don't recognise quickly, and report fraudulent activity to your bank where it can be investigated.

Note that no transactions can be made or money moved using MoneyTrack. The service is designed to allow you to see where your money goes in a 'read-only' format. So it's a safe way to check what's going on with your accounts.

Of course, just as with your own bank, security is our number one priority too. You can find out how we protect your personal information by checking out the security FAQs.

This is a lovemoney.com classic article that has been updated.

10 of the biggest consumer rip-offs

1. Mobile data roaming charges
<p> <span style="text-align: left; ">Using a mobile phone to make and receive calls, send texts and browse the web while abroad can be extremely costly – especially if you are travelling outside the European Union (EU), where calls can cost up to 10 times as much as at home.</span></p> <div> </div> <div> To avoid high charges, Carphone Warehouse suggests tourists ensure a data cap is in place, use applications to check data usage, turn off 'data roaming', avoid data-intensive applications such as Google Maps and YouTube and use wi-fi spots to update social networking sites.</div>
2. PPI
<p> <span style="text-align: left; ">Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) is supposed to help people to continue meeting their loan, mortgage or credit card repayments if they fall ill or lose their jobs. However, policies are often over-priced, riddled with exclusions and sold to people who could not make a claim if they needed to.</span></p> <div> </div> <div> At one point, sale of this cover - which was often included automatically in loan repayments - was estimated to boost the banks' profits by up to £5 billion a year.</div> <div> </div> <div> Now, though, consumers who were mis-sold PPI can fight back by complaining to the bank or lender concerned and taking their case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (08000 234567) should the response prove unsatisfactory.</div>
3. The Lottery
<p> It could be you, but let's face it, it probably won't be. In fact, buying a ticket for the Lotto only gives you a 1 in 13.9 million chance of winning the jackpot.</p> <div> </div> <div> With odds like that, you would almost certainly be better off hanging on to your cash and saving it in a high-interest account.</div>
4. Budget airlines
<p> No-frills airlines such as EasyJet may promote rock-bottom prices on their websites. But the overall fare you pay can be surprisingly high once extras such as luggage and credit card payment fees have been added - a process known as drip pricing.</p> <div> </div> <div> Taking one piece of hold baggage on a return EasyJet flight, for example, adds close to £20 to the cost of your flight, while paying by credit card increases the price by a further £10.</div> <div> </div> <div> It may therefore be worth comparing the total cost with that of a flight with a standard airline such as British Airways.</div>
5. Credit card cash withdrawals
<p> Cash advances, which include cash withdrawals, are generally charged at a much higher rate of interest than standard purchases.</p> <div> </div> <div> While the average credit card interest rate is around 17%, a typical cash withdrawal of £500, for example, is charged at more than 26%.</div> <div> </div> <div> What's more, as the interest accrues from the date of the transaction, rather than the next payment date, costs will mount up even if you clear your balance in full with your next payment.</div>
6. Supermarket 'deals'
<p> Supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda often run promotions under which you can, for example, get three products for the price of two.</p> <div> </div> <div> However, it is only worth taking advantage of these deals if you will actually use the products. Otherwise, you are simply buying for the sake of it, which is a waste of your hard-earned cash.</div> <div> </div> <div> To avoid paying over the odds, it is also worth checking the price per kilo to ensure that larger <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/05/24/supermarkets-slammed-for-multi-buy-rip-offs/">'economy' packs really are cheaper</a> than the smaller versions.</div>
7. Train fares
<p> Buy a train ticket at the station on the day of travel and the price is likely to give you a shock - especially if you are travelling a long distance at a busy time of day.</p> <div> </div> <div> However, <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/03/13/how-to-cut-the-cost-of-your-commute/">you can cut the cost of train travel</a> by 50% or more by going online and making the purchase beforehand - especially if you book 12 weeks in advance, which is when the cheapest tickets are on sale.</div> <div> </div> <div> Other ways to reduce the price you pay include avoiding peak times and taking advantage of so-called carnet tickets, which allow you to buy, for example, 12 journeys for the price of 10.</div>
8. Packaged current accounts
<p> Most High Street banks offer packaged accounts that come with monthly fees ranging from £6.50 up to as much as £40, with a typical account charging about £15 per month.</p> <div> </div> <div> Various benefits, such as travel insurance and mobile phone insurance, are offered in return for this fee. But whether or not it is worth paying for them depends on your individual circumstances.</div> <div> </div> <div> Before signing up, it is therefore essential to <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/01/14/maximise-your-current-account/">check that you will make use of enough of the benefits</a>, and that you cannot get them for less elsewhere.</div>
9. Overseas withdrawals/card payments
<p> Overseas money transfers or travel money purchases attract the same high rate of interest as credit card cash withdrawals.</p> <div> </div> <div> Worse still, most credit cards – and debit cards – also charge you a foreign loading fee if you use them to make purchases while abroad.</div> <div> </div> <div> You can, however, <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/02/17/how-to-avoid-overseas-bank-fees/">avoid these charges</a> by using a Saga Platinum or Nationwide Building Society credit card.</div>
10. Premium rate phone lines
<p> Numbers starting 0871 cost 10p or more from a landline, while those starting 09 can cost more than £1 a minute <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/03/21/call-0800-0808-and-0870-numbers-for-free-from-your-mobile/">from a mobile phone</a>.</p> <div> </div> <div> And the operators of these high-cost phone lines, some of which are banks, often get a cut of the call charges.</div> <div> </div> <div> Most 09 numbers are linked to scams and should therefore be avoided at all costs, while 0871 numbers can often be bypassed by searching for an alternative local rate numbers on the saynoto0870.com.</div>