As technology evolves, online fraud is an increasing worry we should be more alert to. Cybercriminals constantly create new scamming techniques to deceive people into giving personal details. 

Bank impersonation scams involve criminals that pose as bank employees to trick victims into exposing their sensitive financial information. These may apply several techniques, such as phishing emails, phoney bank phone calls, and fake accounts. In this week’s Spot the Scam article, let's explore three bank impersonation scams. These are internet banking scams, spoofing, and fake social media accounts.

Internet banking scams

We all enjoy the convenience of online banking as it makes our lives easier. That is why scammers design internet banking scams. These are designed to exploit the convenience of online banking and trick many users into falling victim. Cybercriminals may employ malware or phishing techniques to obtain unauthorised access to your online banking credentials. Sometimes they also design fake internet banking sites that mimic legitimate ones in appearance. Still, they have a minimal difference in minor details, such as incorrect URLs (b0v instead of bov.com). 

To prevent these types of scams, ensure your devices have robust and updated security applications, check your bank statements frequently for unapproved transactions, and keep an eye out for every detail in URLs.

Spoofing

Spoofing is a technique whereby scammers manipulate caller ID or email addresses, so they appear to be from reputable companies such as banks. It can be tough to identify and misleading because it makes people think they are communicating with a trustworthy source. Ask yourself what a bank will NEVER ask you for over the phone. If someone from any contact number asks you for some of the below personal details, it’s a scam:

·  Account number

·  Card number

·  CVV number

·  PIN number

·  Passwords for internet/mobile banking

·  One-time login passwords or authentication codes

Fake social media accounts

Fake social media accounts are all over the place. Some of these are also phoney banking social media pages. Scammers build these fake profiles to gather personal data and trick users into revealing sensitive information. Sometimes they pretend to act as customer care touchpoints to convince people to give them their sensitive details and move a step closer to their finances.

Always make sure to verify the official usernames and the level of followers/likes of social media pages. These can be indicators of a legitimate or fake social media profile.

Bank impersonation scams will always continue, and they will only get trickier to identify. You must keep abreast with emerging scam techniques and make sure to act with caution instead of urgency. Stay tuned for more Spot the Scam updates in the coming weeks!