Bogus Bank Emails Leave Brits at Risk

ABINGDON, England, October 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Almost half of us have received bogus emails claiming to come from our bank, warns Kaspersky Lab and Barclays. This leaves thousands at risk of cyber-fraud, as fraudsters will often use fake notifications from banks in order to trick consumers into handing over account details - and subsequently access to their money.

According to a Kaspersky Lab study, 47 per cent of users have received bogus emails allegedly coming from a bank and 29 per cent reported suspicious messages supposedly sent on behalf of an online store. Nearly one in 10 had been automatically redirected at least once to a suspicious site asking them to enter their credit card credentials and five per cent stated that they had entered financial information on dubious sites. These are all examples of phishing, one of the many types of malicious attack that targets important confidential financial data including credit card numbers, logins and passwords to online banking accounts.

Although many will recognise phishing attempts, these attacks do often end in success: with about four per cent of respondents reporting that they had lost money to cybercriminals - even a small success rate translates into big money for a cybercriminal.

David Emm, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, says: "There are a huge number of threats to consumers who choose to bank online, but they shouldn't let this outweigh the numerous benefits it offers. As long as people take a few simple precautions, and employ good sense, there is no reason not to bank online."

Alex Grant, Managing Director, Fraud Prevention, Barclays, said: "These sorts of emails are a huge issue for all banks and our customers. The frequency of these scams and the professionalism with which they are orchestrated is ever-increasing. As such, it is an on-going challenge, one which Barclays takes very seriously, to try and ensure customers, and their money, remain safe. These scam emails could appear to have come from any bank and we would advise individuals to think carefully before opening and responding to emails.

"Barclays emails will always be personally addressed, they will never say 'Dear Customer' and they will also contain the last four digits of the customer's account number. The documents included in the email will also be password protected with information that will only by known by the customer. If any Barclays customer is suspicious of any correspondence or contact they've received - letter, email, telephone or even in person - they should contact us immediately.

To ensure consumers are protected in the first instance, Kaspersky Lab recommends combined technologies to provide comprehensive protection against financial threats and ensure maximum protection for online banking and payment transactions.

Kaspersky Lab's Safe Money advanced protection technology helps users to keep their cash safe from cybercriminals. Safe Money is a set of special protection mechanisms activated automatically every time the user is banking or shopping online. The technology reliably protects the user's money against almost any types of attack in the financial fraudsters' arsenal.

Kaspersky Lab's advanced anti-phishing technology detects and blocks fake websites which seek to trick users into giving away financial information. Safe Money verifies the security certificates of banking or online payment sites to add more protection for financial transactions. The special safe browser mode safeguards the user's online activities against malicious attacks. Secure Keyboard and Virtual Keyboard technologies ensure passwords and credit card details cannot be intercepted when being entered, protecting sensitive data.

Safe Money is available as part of Kaspersky Internet Security, the advanced protection solution for home users, http://www.kaspersky.com/internet-securityand as part of Kaspersky Internet Security - Multi-Device, security solution across all your devices. Kaspersky Internet Security is also available free for Barclays' online banking customers.

Notes to editors

Customers can call Barclays Customer Service line 0845 7 55 55 or the telephone number displayed on the reverse of their debit card and monthly statements. Customers receiving a suspicious email claiming to be from Barclays can forward it to the team at [email protected] and they will investigate it further. Alternatively, customers can visit their local Barclays branch.

Kaspersky Lab advises that consumers should remember the following when banking online:

• Use security software - most banks offer some for free to their customers (for example, Barclays offer their online banking customers free Kaspersky Internet Security).
• Look for the padlock, https or unbroken key symbol in your browser before entering any personal details.
• Always type the address yourself, rather than following links to bank login.
• Be vigilant - if for any reason you become suspicious, end the session and start again, and don't click on links or attachments in emails unless you are 100% sure.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is the world's largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world's top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 15-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at http://www.kaspersky.co.uk.

* The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2011. The rating was published in the IDC report "Worldwide Endpoint Security 2012-2016 Forecast and 2011 Vendor Shares (IDC #235930, July 2012)". The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2011.

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Editorial contact:

Berkeley PR
Jenny Jones
[email protected]
Telephone: +44(0)118-909-0909
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Kaspersky Lab UK
Ruth Knowles
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Milton Business Park
OX14 4RY, Oxford

SOURCE Kaspersky Lab