|
|
 |
|
New Mastercard Phishing Scam:
A new scam has recently been identified by security experts, that tries to tempt MasterCard customers with exciting discounts and special offers on purchases.
Sophos, the security company, have said that the new email scam works by convincing the recipient to sign up for the MasterCard SecureCode scheme. The SecureCode system is used to increase the security of online credit card transactions.
The email in question promises the recipient discounts on future purchases and a website link in the email takes them to a website that looks very, very similar to the official MasterCard website.
It is when the recipient is on this website that these phishers will ask you to input your credit card information.
Carole Theriault from Sophos says, "MasterCard has been very successful in positioning SecureCode as the answer to online fraud, and with so many computer users growing increasingly worried about the risks of shopping online, the prospect of greater security and money off can be too much to resist,"
Sophos has also reported that a very similar scam, aimed at Verified by Visa scheme has also been discovered.
Please visit the Sophos Website for more security news and information.
At this point we would like to advise that you should only ever put your credit card or any other personal information into a trusted website.
So why not bookmark your bank's website into your favourites.
Please also note that when banks send you an email they NEVER ask to to submit your full details into their websites.
They will normally ask for your preset password that you created when you opened internet banking, or they will ask you for 1 piece of personal information. Again that was given by yourself when you created the online internet banking account.
If you have never applied for internet banking, then do not open the email at all, simply add it to your junk folder, or delete it completely.
If in doubt please contact your bank and ask them if they have emailed you, or have sent a generic email out to their clients.
Also have a look at the email address from where the email came from. You can also hover your mouse over the email address and your computer will show that it is a different email address altogether and is nothing to do with the bank.
If you have any other concerns or questions on this then please visit our contacts page and we will be happy to help you.
*This information originally appeared in Web User magazine and also through Sophos.
Back to the Latest News page.
|
|
