NWFF is pleased to refer to a number of reputable anti-fraud institutions and agencies, either on this website or elsewhere, but is not under any circumstances to be regarded as their agent, nor do their views necessarily represent those of NWFF
Phishing
The threat of Phishing, particularly committed on the World Wide Web has increased dramatically in recent years.
- Criminals typically send out fake emails, which appear convincing, as they often replicate the look and use the same terminology as a business would use.
- Recipients are chosen at random from addresses gathered from the web, or from customer databases, which have been hijacked.
The emails tend to follow a style and the following characteristics are usually present:
- Invite recipients’ participation in lotteries, competitions and other “lucrative” schemes”.
- Usually seek a quick response, and seek your personal details, including bank account information, and PINs/passwords, etc.
- The grammar and spelling used tends to be poor.
- If you respond it is likely that your details will be passed to a relay website controlled by criminals, who harvest the information they receive, ready to commit fraud.
- The criminals may act in isolation or be part of an organised ring, working in different global locations.
- Phishing attacks can also attack the functionality of customer PC’s and cause general security and virus problems.
Phishing can technically be extended to unsolicited telephone calls and fax instructions received from unknown third parties who convince customers that they represent their Bank or other financial advisor(s).
Always be certain of whom you are dealing with:
- Never respond to an email, telephone call or fax instruction from a third party that you do not recognise.
- Be especially cautious if these emails contain attachments or hyperlinks
- Delete all unsolicited emails from an unrecognised source, particularly if they contain details of offers, promotions and/or seek an urgent response
Look after your security details:
- Your PIN Number and Password are the key to your online accounts and information. You should keep these secure and never share them with anybody.
- Change your password regularly (avoid duplication of Passwords for different services).
- Remember that we will never ask you to supply your complete Password or PIN in order to access our Internet Banking Services - we only ask for parts of your Password and PIN
Additional tips to help you stay safe whilst online:
- Check the security of e-commerce sites
- Log out properly from secure sites
- Exercise caution when using computers in public places
Remember if something appears too good to be true, it usually is!!
Further information is available from:
