Be aware of fraudulent SMSes or phone calls that will try to trick you into giving up your personal or financial information.
What is SMS Fraud or Smshing?
Smshing or text fraud is when fraudsters send SMS messages that appear as if they are from your bank, a well known company or a government agency. The aim of these messages is to make people give up private information such as bank / card / account details, passwords and any other personal information such as mobile number. Be careful, think twice before giving out any information or pressing on a link.
These text messages may not always be from unknown numbers. Some scammers use technology to make their messages look as though they are from someone or a company known to you and which may already be on your contact list.
Typical Scams
There are many different types of sms scams. Here are some examples:
Attempted Payment: A payment was attempted from a new device or an unusual location. If this was not done by you, you are asked to login to a fraudulent website.
Attempted Sign-In: Account sign-in was attempted from a new device. If this was not done by you, you are asked to login to a fraudulent website.
Change in procedure: We are changing the way transactions are verified and you are asked to confirm your mobile number via a fraudulent website.
Blocked Account: Your account has been blocked / suspended or is about to be blocked / suspended due to suspicious activity. You are asked to verify your information through a fraudulent website.
Package Delivery: You have a package for delivery and you are asked to confirm payment by following a fraudulent link.
What is Telephone Fraud or Vishing?Telephone fraud and vishing are phone calls from fraudsters who pretend to be from your bank and urge you to give out your personal details, such as your card number, PIN, internet or mobile banking user ID, account details and passwords. They can also ask you to move money from your bank account to another.
Some of these phone scams will seem genuine because they may use your name to address you or some other real information. They will also seem urgent such as they will tell you that your account or card is being blocked, so that you don't have time to think and you give up the requested information.
These phone calls may not always be from unknown numbers. Some scammers use technology to make their calls look as though they are from your bank or from someone or a company known to you and which may already be on your contact list.
Protect yourself - Be Aware of how you can catch a scam!·
- Look out for the sender’s number. Be extra cautious, a sender’s number can be spoofed to show a legitimate phone number! Some scammers use technology to make their messages look as though they are from your bank.
- Look out for spelling and grammatical mistakes. These can be in the sender’s name, in the text or in the link provided within the message.
- Do not click on links which do not contain the Bank's official URL ‘www.bov.com’ or reply with personal information - you might give them access to your financial information, bank account, card account and so much more.
- Fraudsters try to use similar looking links such as www.bov.con, bov-bank.com, bovfinance.com, bovhelp.com, bov-alert.com.
- Messages indicating urgency are usually scams. These will try to create a sense of panic and fear so that you are more easily tricked into giving out personal details such as your internet banking login ID and password. They will typically ask you to take immediate and urgent action such as click on this link or call this number. They may call you after sending you a smshing text. They will use language that scares you into action such as:
- Suspicious activity was noted on your account
- Your account will be suspended if you do not take action
- A transaction of a large amount of money took place
- The security team needs to speak to you urgently
- Your account was accessed
- Your account is at risk
- An unauthorised device was used to login into your account
- Your account has been locked - follow these steps to unlock your account and reset your password
Is the message or phone call relevant or expected? If not, ignore the message and delete it. Terminate the phone call immediately.
- Always remember that Bank of Valletta does NOT send text messages or messages via social media asking customers to:
- unlock suspended or blocked accounts
- update details such as passwords
- provide personal or financial information
- Bank of Valletta will not call you to ask for financial information, passwords or PIN
Do not send your details - whether personal or financial
Do not use the phone numbers provided in the text
Delete the SMS
- From time to time we may contact you for feedback about your experience with us, but when we do, we will never ask you for your account or card information.
BOV Official Links
Our website is https://www.bov.com. Scammers may use combinations that may look similar to our official website e.g. bovfinance or bovhelp.
They may also create fake social media pages that clone or mirror our official pages. These are our official social media channels:
Double check before you click on a link - check our official links above. If you follow a fraudulent link, your bank card details or financial information might be used by fraudsters and you may end up losing money
Received a text or any suspicious communication?
If you receive a text or any other suspicious communication purporting to be from Bank of Valletta, please tell us about it.
Watch these short clips to learn more on how you can be cyber safe.