By Hope Imaka – EM TV Online
The world of banking has transformed from waiting in long queues at a branch, to SMS banking, through to mobile banking, and now Internet banking. Gone are the days where customers have to be physically present to make a transaction.
However, with the convenience of having access to one’s financial services at the touch of a button, comes the rather Hollywood take of Cyber Theft. The acquisition of banking details by cyber thieves has become a dangerous trend, leaving valuable customers rather vulnerable.
Bank South Pacific (BSP) has issued a warning of fraudulent emails being circulated to targeted customers who are actively engaged in internet banking. These emails are claiming to be from BSP.
BSP says “the emails may look genuine but will contain links that can lead to a fake website that appears to be the BSP Internet Banking Website. The fake site is designed to collect banking credentials. Unsuspecting customers can login and give in personal information to fraudsters”
This act is termed as phishing.
Below is an example of fraudulent email content. The difference with this phishing email is that the email address has an additional alias as service@bsp.com.pg which may seem genuine but this is not from BSP, the email address is not valid. The scammer is using an additional alias with his email ID kdeevela@kent.edu.
Customers are urged to be very careful when receiving emails from unsolicited sources. Bank South Pacific has made clear on several occasions that verification of personal banking details will never be done via email or text message.
If you receive such emails forward to Hoax@bsp.com.pg.
