Ever heard of phishing, spoofing and pharming? Unfortunately these are not the latest aquatic trends to come out of Australia — instead these are some of the sophisticated ways criminals are helping themselves to South Africans’ hard-earned money. And the bad news from the Ombudsman for Banking Services, Clive Pillay, is that, locally, online banking fraud is on the increase — in fact, it made up two percent of the cases viewed by the organisation in 2008.

From securing clients’ personal information during online financial transactions to repeated warnings urging them to be aware of fraudulent emails and SMSes, banks are doing their best to combat fraud. If you fall victim to fraudsters your bank may cover your losses but this depends entirely on the circumstances. For example, you will be held liable if you’ve shared your personal details. The first step to protecting yourself is knowing what to look out for.

Online bank fraud 1: Phishing

This is the most common type of online fraud where criminals send an official-looking email that appears to be from your bank, asking you to confirm your personal details.

How to protect yourself: No bank will ever ask you to confirm your details by email or telephone. Do not respond to the email and contact your bank immediately to inform them of the scam.

Online bank fraud 2: Key-logging software

Key-logging is a software tool that can record the keys you press during online banking. The criminals then use this information to access your bank account. It can be installed on computers at internet cafés or on your work computer without your knowledge, or even sent as an email attachment that will activate if opened.

How to protect yourself: Only transact on a secure computer — preferably at home or at work if you know that the computer is kept or stored in a secure location; and never open emails from someone you don’t know.

Online bank fraud 3: Spoofing

Spoofing occurs when criminals send an email that directs you via a link to a website that has been designed to look like your bank’s website. Once you enter your details on these sites, the criminals record your personal information and use it to access your bank account.

How to protect yourself: Never click on a link in an email to get to your online banking website. Rather type in the address each time you log on.

Online bank fraud 4: Pharming

Similar to spoofing, criminals tamper with the numerical strings of a legitimate website address and redirect the victim to a bogus website without their knowledge.

How to protect yourself: Ensure that you only transact on secure websites, which can be identified by a small padlock icon at the bottom of the browser window and a 's' after the http (as in 'https://').

Safety tips for banking online

• Be confidential: Keep your banking details such as your ID number, bank account details, login and PIN codes confidential.

• Use anti-virus software: Most of the major banks offer this free of charge to their internet banking clients. Make sure any security software that is on your computer is licensed and up-to-date.

• Double-check account numbers: When making an online payment, double-check that you have entered the correct account number. If you enter the incorrect account number, the bank cannot simply recall the money but will need permission from the person into whose account you have made the deposit. If the person refuses, the bank cannot recall your money and you will have to take legal action, at your own expense, against the accountholder to recover your money.

• Creating a password: Fraudsters know all the tricks so ensure that your password is not too obvious to guess, such as your name or birthday. Make sure it includes letters and numbers.

• Protect your password: To prevent someone who is using your computer from having access to your account, ensure that you do not save passwords on your desktop or in your notes folder and never ask your computer to 'remember this password'.

• SMS updates: Most banks offer some kind of account notification service via SMS. Clients simply register to receive SMS messages whenever there’s activity on their accounts — which is incredibly useful to keep track of your money, even when you aren’t near your computer.

• Logging off: Always logout after you have finished banking online. Don’t just close your browser window.

• Act fast: If you notice any irregular day-to-day transactions on your bank account, contact your bank immediately.

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