| Whether you are sending and receiving email, shopping, or conducting your day-to-day banking, the Internet has become a convenient and necessary tool of modern life. |
 |
But as the online world grows, so do the number and kind of fraudulent schemes that can threaten your identity and finances.
Our goal is to provide you with useful tips to help you get ahead financially, and we want you to feel confident that what we send you is trustworthy. But we also want you to understand and be aware of fraudulent email practices, because the potential for identity theft is real.
Education and information are the first lines of defense. Click through the links below to learn how to protect yourself.
 What is phishing?
How phishing scams work
What to look for
Protecting yourself
Always practice safe computing
What is phishing?
Phishing is an email scam that attempts to lure you into providing important personal information such as bank and credit card numbers, passwords, PINs. This information can then be used for many fraudulent purposes.
How phishing scams work
- You receive an email supposedly from your financial institution, online vendor, or other reputable company or organization alerting you to a problem with your account such as outdated or incomplete information, or a billing problem.
- The message in the email may threaten to discontinue access to your account unless immediate action is taken. To fix the problem, you may be asked to reply to the email with your personal information.
- Or, you may be asked to click on a link to a Website that appears to be real and legitimate, but is actually a false or spoofed site.
- While at that spoofed site, you are asked to enter your confidential information.
- Criminals collect this information and can then use it to buy things on your credit card, apply for phony bank/credit cards, get access to your online banking profile, or even steal your identity.
What to look for
Phishing emails often contain some telltale signs. Typically, they are not personalized, in contrast to legitimate emails. Many scam emails also contain spelling or grammatical mistakes. The look and feel of the email and the Website that it asks you to link to often do not look right, and sometimes the URL is not identical to that of the real site. In addition, contact information (name, address, phone number) of the company supposedly sending you the email is usually missing.
Most importantly, phishing emails often include an urgent request for personal information often by using upsetting (but false) information, such as a threat to close an account in order to get you to react quickly.
Keep in mind, however, that the technology used by criminals is constantly evolving. Thats why you should always follow the advice below.
Protecting yourself
Once you know what to look for, its easier to spot scams and protect yourself. In general, common sense is always a good guide.
- Only communicate your account information via a secure Website. When you do visit banking or e-commerce sites, do so only through your bookmarks or by typing in the full address.
- Banks have developed leading-edge security features on their Websites that allow customers to conduct their transactions in a safe and secure manner; however, customers must also do their part to protect their information.
- Phishing is just one type of online scam and fraudsters are always looking for new ways to steal from unsuspecting victims. In general, its important to always practice safe computing everything from installing anti-virus software and a personal firewall, to protecting your online passwords, to verifying your account transactions on your electronic or paper statements.
- Do not disclose personal or confidential information in an email even when corresponding with family or friends.
- Do not respond to an email or click on a link to a Website in an email that asks for your personal information no matter how official the email or Website appears to be.
- If you dont have a relationship with the company or organization, delete the email message immediately.
- If you have a relationship with the company or organization sending you the email, but are unsure about its legitimacy, call the company to confirm they have sent it.
- Email messages from legitimate companies and organizations should never ask you to disclose confidential information, such as your password, PIN, credit card number, or bank account number. This is Scotiabanks policy and we will never ask you to restore your account access by email. Do not respond to such requests.
If you are concerned that you may have received a fraudulent email and disclosed personal information relating to your Scotiabank accounts, contact your local Scotiabank branch immediately.
Always practice safe computing
International banks have developed leading-edge security features on their Websites that allow customers to conduct their transactions in a safe and secure manner; however, customers must also do their part to protect their information.
Phishing is just one type of online scam and fraudsters are always looking for new ways to steal from unsuspecting victims. In general, its important to always practice safe computing everything from installing anti-virus software and a personal firewall, to protecting your online passwords, to verifying your account transactions on your electronic or paper statements.
TOP
|
