CYBERSPACE

Beware! You Can Be Cheated

THROUGH FALSE EMAILS AND FAKE MESSAGES. DON'T LET YOURSELF BE CHEATED 

By: Kashoo Tawseef

deviantart

INTERNET is taking lead in every aspect of life and has crept in every sphere be it medical science, banking, space technology, schooling and so on. These days life is paralyzed rather handicapped without E-mails and SMSs (Short Messaging Service), and at the same time some hackers are purporting to be from worlds big corporations and are dispatching messages to a large number of people, including online bank customers.
These emails/messages are bogus and similar to those, which have affected many people and other organizations across the globe. The e-mails (Fraudulent Internet Banking Emails) and SMS'S provide a link that requests login details i.e. name, Access Code, password, email address. The purpose of this scam and trick is to fraudulently obtain information and access to customers' account details and funds. Actually, these emails have not come from any reputed company but from a fraudulent one. 

Be Cautious: If you receive anything that is suspected to be a new fraudulent activity, please do not respond to it. If anyone receives e-mail/SMS requesting your user name or password, etc, etc, please delete the e-mail/SMS. Under no circumstances should you reply to these e-mails, click on the link provided or enter any of your personal details. Any authorized company typically will never request personal details via email. If you have provided your personal details please immediately contact customer services of the service provider like Yahoo, Google, Rediff via their customer service contact.

If possible please send contact phone number and the suspect e-mail to the customer service address as an attachment, rather than simply forwarding the email, as this helps them to identify the author and source of the particular email and SMS. Never access fraud online sites from a link in an email, particularly sites that require your personal information like Bank Access Code and password etc, etc. When using Internet Banking check for the locked padlock symbol in your browser. Keep your computer up to date with anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software. Disregard and delete spam, chain and junk emails. Avoid using insecure computers such as Internet Cafes for Internet Banking. Keep your password secret. Change your password regularly. Regularly check your account activity for unauthorized transactions, if any. Protect your personal information at all times. Be alert to scams. To learn to protect yourself online and for more information on scams and how to protect yourself you can visit many sites including www.fido.asic.gov.au or www.scamwatch.gov.au

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