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Natwest customers targeted by email scam

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16th Oct 2012
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Natwest customers have been the target of an email phishing scam, according to antivirus company Bitdefender. 

Following the suspension of Natwest's Get Cash app, which the bank denied had anything to do with reports of customers claiming money that had been stolen from their accounts. 

Bitdefender said it detected a scam, where criminals pretending to be from Natwest are trying to steal customers information by sending a fake satisfaction survey by email. 

The bogus survey is sent from an email resembling an official Natwest address, and tells customers they have won a £100 gift certificate, which they can claim in exchange for filling their credentials out on a form. 

On clicking the link included in the email, the user is taken to a phishing page that asks for user names and passwords. Criminals then have the ability to perform credit card fraud or identity theft. 

According to Bitdefender's chief security strategist Catalin Cosoi: “Bank phishing is successful because it deals directly with the subject of cash – a subject that creates panic, joy or other strong emotions in users’ minds,”

“An attack such as this one can spread like wildfire through a spam campaign. When users read they have won a reward or they will have their accounts deleted in 24 hours, many forget caution, and hastily give away personal details.”

The company gave some advice on staying safe from phishing attacks:

  • Don't click links allegedly emailed from your bank
  • Don't give away information unless its a secured web page of the authentic financial institution
  • Make sure you have reputable anti-virus software installed
  • Keep up-to-date with malware alerts
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By dogsbreath
18th Oct 2012 12:21

We're all to blame.  There's

We're all to blame.  There's a very clear message to say to everyone: NEVER CLICK ON A LINK IN AN EMAIL.  It's nice and simple that everyone can understand it.

But along come the marketing chimps who "must have interactivity with our marketing communications",  which encourages people to click on the links.  Add to that the prevalence of WIndows security issues,  poor PC configuration...

Now the biggest question is what are Nat West doing allowing a single-factor logon?  It's not rocket science,  but by adding a secure key device,  the problem goes away.  But,  and it's a very big but,  these key devices are a right pain to work with;  people loose them,  forget them,  or struggle to use them.

Security : Ease of use : Low cost

Pick any two.

Thanks (1)