We want to help our customers better protect themselves against potential Internet threats. By familiarising yourself with current threats and past trends, you can increase of your chances of effectively combating the evolving tactics.
The most recent banking security threats are listed below:
Phishing is a scam where hackers 'fish' for your personal details by using emails claiming to be from financial institutions. This method continues to be favored by online thieves.
Emails claiming to be from banks or other legitimate institutions are sent in bulk. The email asks the recipient to provide sensitive information such as their username, password, User ID or PIN by providing a link leading to an authentic-looking website, enabling thieves to gather the details for later fraudulent use.
An example of a hoax email is shown below:
If you receive an email requesting you to re-register or re-enter sensitive details, delete it immediately and notify the ANZ Internet Banking Support Center in your country.
You can minimize your chances of being a victim of phishing scams by:
- never accessing Internet Banking by clicking a link found in an email
- treating all emails requesting personal log on information such as username, password or PIN with extreme caution. Authentic ANZ emails will not request personal details or log on information
- immediately deleting emails of unknown origins, no matter how innocent or provocative the subject headings sound
- changing your Internet Banking password on a regular basis
- keeping your anti-virus and firewalls up-to-date and perform regular scans of your computer.
Spyware and adware
Spyware is a type of software that secretly collects user information while on the Internet.
Adware is a type of spyware used by marketers to track Internet users’ habits and interests for the purpose of customising future advertising material. Adware can monitor information such as the types of sites visited, types of articles read, or the types of pop-ups and banners the user clicks on. The information is then used to customize future advertisements directed to the user, or can be sold to a third party for the same purpose.
There are products available that can help you detect, monitor and remove spyware from your computer. Many complete computer security software suites now come standard with a spyware detection and removal feature.
You can minimize your chances of unintentionally downloading spyware onto your computer by:
- being wary of banners, ads and pop-ups while surfing the Internet. Do not click on them no matter how enticing they may appear
- reviewing terms and conditions when you install free programs or subscribe to services from the Internet
- using up-to-date anti-spyware program to regularly scan your computer.
Viruses and worms
A computer virus is software that attaches itself to another program. Similar to a biological virus, it must attach itself to another live program to survive and reproduce. Unlike trojans, which are self-sufficient programs, viruses can only run if the infected program is running. While active, the virus attempts to reproduce and attach itself to other programs. This can tie up resources such as disk space and memory, causing problems on any computer.
An email virus is the latest type of computer virus. It is transported through email messages and usually replicates by automatically distributing itself out to all contacts on the victim’s email address book.
A worm is similar to a virus. It exploits computers in a network that contain security holes. Once a security hole is found, the worm will attempt to replicate itself from computer to computer. Like viruses, worms can be equally destructive.
You can increase your chances of ensuring your computer is free from worms and viruses by:
- installing anti-virus software and keeping it updated
- downloading and installing security patches for your operating system as soon as they become available
- not accepting attachments from emails of unknown sources
- installing software from trusted sources only.
Trojans
A trojan is a destructive program that poses as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, trojans do not replicate themselves and do not need a host program to attach to.
Today’s computer users often accept trojans onto their computers, believing that the program is harmless or even helpful. Some trojans will claim to rid the computer of viruses or other harmful applications, but instead introduce viruses and leave it vulnerable to attacks by hackers.
You can minimize your chances of unintentionally downloading trojans by:
- not opening emails or accepting attachments from unknown sources
- installing software from trusted sources only
- not clicking on links contained within emails of unknown sources
- regularly scanning your computer for trojans and other malicious programs with up-to-date anti-virus software
- using a firewall to monitor traffic to and from your computer while connected to the Internet
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downloading and installing security patches for your operating system as soon as it is available.
