Tips to protect your bank accounts during e-banking. Phishing morphs into more advanced versions.

In a twist to the recent spate of money transfer frauds committed via Internet; you now don’t need to provide your password in reply to an unsolicited mail. A hacker could still be able to crack your email ID and access sensitive data.

Private information thus collected is used to access bank accounts and defraud in other ways.

Many, however, have not been as lucky and their accounts have been misused. Now, what is banks’ stand on the subject, considering the fact that online banking is picking up?

If you compromise your information, the bank is not at fault. Cases of online money transfer fraud brought to the banking ombudsman have increased. While taking a decision, the ombudsman’s office factors in the beneficiary of the funds, and whether the bank had adhered to know your customer (KYC) norms while opening the consumer’s account.

There have been instances, where banks have been told to refund the defrauded amount.

If funds are transferred from one account to another in the same bank, there is a possiblity of insider involvement. If there is a duplicate website, it is the responsibility of the banks’ technical side to look into it.’’ But the issue here is not cure; it’s prevention.

Banks increasingly invest in security systems. In Internet banking, for instance, there are levels of passwords, among other elaborate authentication procedures.

One thing a bank would never do is asking you for your name or password.

Banks don’t send messages to consumers to solicit information nor encourage such behaviour.

Its website highlights simple tips to stay protected, such as always visit the website of a bank by typing its domain name in the browser URL, instead of clicking links on any mails, as ways to identify a spoofed site

How to protect your bank account

• Open an A/c directly at a bank branch. A direct selling agent may retain copies of documents, which may help a hacker.
• Don’t engage in sensitive e-banking processes such as funds transfer at a cyber cafe.
• Remember, a bank (or for that matter, your email site admin) will never ask for an update of your details.
• Do not use pirated version of the Windows operating system. It will be more vulnerable to spyware and unsolicited programmes. Importantly, load anti-virus software.
• If you realize you’ve made a mistake, immediately try to change the password, and report it.