Consumers urged to remain vigilant of phishing scams

APACS, the UK payments association, has advised about the increasing numbers of phishing attacks in the UK and reminded consumers of the tips to help them avoid falling victim to such crimes.

Phishing has become far more frequent in recent months with the latest APACS data showing more than 10,000 reported phishing incidents in the first quarter of 2008 - up over 200 per cent from the same period last year.

Phishing is the name given to emails that claim to be from your bank but are actually sent to you by fraudsters. These emails typically urge you to click on a link that takes you to a fake website identical to the one you would expect to see. You are then asked to verify or update your personal security information but, by doing so, you are actually giving your information to the fraudster who has created the fake website. The fraudster then uses the details to access your online bank account and take your money.

Although online banking fraud losses decreased by a third from £33.5 million in 2006 to £22.6m in 2007 the fraudsters are still having some success in duping customers with phishing emails - which is why the industry is keen to remind customers to remain on their guard to these scams.

In a single phishing incident, thousands or even million of emails are sent out by fraudsters, typically trying to convince people to click on a link that will send them to a fake website. The criminals' objective is to fool people into thinking it is a genuine site so they will enter their online banking security information.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, says: "Although online banking fraud losses fell last year the fraudsters clearly aren't giving up. Phishing scams are continuing to rise and they are becoming ever more sophisticated, which is why we want to remind people to remain wise to them. The advice is quite simple: just remember that your bank will never send you emails asking you to disclose PIN numbers, login details or complete passwords - if you receive an email of this nature you should delete it. If you think your details have been compromised you should contact your bank immediately."

APACS research shows that although the number of people either deleting or taking no action when receiving a phishing email has increased from 75% in 2006 to 82% last year, there are still nearly one in five people who don't follow these common sense precautions. Also, although 93% of people have anti-virus software on their PC, almost one in three people (29%) don't have any anti-spyware software on their computer.

To avoid phishing scams, APACS advice to consumers is:

Always be suspicious of unsolicited emails that claim to be from your bank; delete any phishing emails that you receive;

Never give your login details, PINs or passwords in full by email - banks will never request these in this way;

Always access your internet bank account by typing your bank's address into your web browser;

Ensure that there is a locked padlock or unbroken key in the bottom right of your browser window when accessing your bank's website. The beginning of the bank's internet address will also change from 'http' to 'https' when a secure connection is made.

Make sure home PCs are equipped with up-to-date security and virus protection;

Take extra care when using an internet cafe or public computer for online banking;

Phishing emails can be reported to APACS at reports@banksafeonline.org.uk.

David Cresswell, director of communications at the Financial Ombudsman Service, says: "We've seen a significant spike in consumer concerns over phishing scams in recent months. This suggests large numbers of people are still receiving phishing emails and not knowing what they are or whether they should respond to them - so we welcome this important reminder to customers."

A number of broader industry initiatives are in place to help prevent online banking fraud and reduce the effectiveness of phishing scams. Some of these activities include:

Monitoring of the internet at industry and bank level to detect and close down phishing related websites;

Shared security intelligence with online partners; and

The development and use of clear and consistent advice for consumers.

The banking industry also works alongside a number of organisations such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), overseas law enforcement agencies, technology companies, anti-virus firms and Internet Service Providers to tackle this type of fraud.

Further help and advice about phishing and preventing online banking fraud is available at banksafeonline.org.uk.