Important tips for safe online banking

A close friend of mine recently lost 38K from his account online

Rather than go into those morbid details, i would rather make this a preventive post

Here are some 

Good Suggestions from Citibank

Which all of us should take to heart

Please go through the following Do's and Don'ts to protect yourself from Phishing, Vishing, and Smishing

A careless or hasty response to fraudulent emails (phishing), telephone calls (vishing) or SMS (smishing) can result in a complete wipe out of hard earned money from your account.

E-mails that appear to have been sent from your Bank, asking you to visit a website (looking very similar to bank's website) in order to procure your sensitive account information is commonly known as 'Online Phishing'. Banks never sends emails soliciting such information.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or your bank would never ask you for your personal or confidential information like bank account details, ATM PIN, Internet PIN, One Time Password (OTP), Onetime Access Codes (OAC) or other passwords over an email or telephone.

Never share your personal information (e.g. PAN, credit /debit card numbers, date of birth, mother's maiden name or any other personal information) over the phone, mail /SMS or on the internet unless you have a trusted business relationship with the company.

DO's

> Educate yourself of fraudulent activity on the Internet.

> Periodically review your bank account and credit card statements for any transactions that are not initiated by you.

> Always look for secure session indicators like https:// and padlock  on web sites that require personal information.

> Use an updated anti-virus software and firewall software.

> You should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a 

secure website or the telephone.

> Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied.

> If you have given out your bank account information, report the theft of this information to the bank as

quickly as possible.

DON'Ts

X - Never click on hyperlinks within emails, verify the URL independently before typing it on the browser.

X - Never reply to emails that seek personal information.

X - Never respond to offers of money from abroad.

X - Never respond to/ make remittances/ participate in schemes or offers from unknown entities.

X - Do not reply to emails or Phone text (SMS) messages claiming that the recipient has won a substantial sum of money in an online lottery or promotion.

X - Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information.

X - Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic or if you don't know the sender.

BE SAFE!