Security Server Update

[Jas]

Hi guys,

Here’s a copy of the bank scam you might have heard about. If you click on the link in the email, it’ll take you to a bogus westpac site. If you put in your account number and security code, you have just given those things to a scammer.
If that’s not clear – DON’T EVER GIVE DETAILS OVER THE WEB!!!!

If you want to use internet banking, always type in the bank’s address (or use a favourite), and then goto the banking site from there. When you goto sign in, look in the lower left hand corner. There’s a padlock in browser bar for the real site, and nothing in the scammer’s. Click the padlaock to make sure it’s your banks..

Here’s link to Westpac’s media release on the topic.
http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/publish.nsf/Content/WINU+Archive+media+release+14+August+2003

For comparision with the link below, here’s westpac’s real sign on page. Look for the padlock.
https://olb.westpac.com.au/

The link on the email below looks ok, but here's where it goes
http://olb.westpac.com.au :User...pdate&[email protected]/west/
Note, no padlock on this page.


Jas

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: westpac.com.au [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, 19 August 2003 21:17 PM
Subject: Security Server Update
Importance: High








Dear Valued Customer,


- Our new security system will help you to avoid
frequently fraud transactions and to keep your
investments in safety.


- Due to technical update we recommend you to
reactivate your account.


Click on the link below to login and begin using
your updated Westpac account.

To log into your account, please visit the NetBank
website at https://olb.westpac.com.au/


To review your statement, log into your Westpac
account and click the eStatements & eNotices button
in the left navigation of your Account Summary page.
Your new statement is listed in the left navigation
of the page.

If you have questions about your online statement,
please send us a Bank Mail or call us at
1-888-BKONWEB (256-6932).

We appreciate your business. It's truly our
pleasure to serve you.

Westpac Customer Care

This email is for notification only. To contact us,
please log into your account and send a Bank Mail.

 

[Les]

G'day Jas,

Thanks for the warning - but, have you noticed, it sounded like a post from www.engrish.com

Our new security system will help you to avoid
frequently fraud transactions and to keep your
investments in safety.

I certainly want to avoid "frequently fraud" transactions - oh, my, yes !!!! And I always want my investments in safety

Due to technical update we recommend you to
reactivate your account.

And I recommend you to learn to structure your Engrish correctly !!

To review your statement, log into your Westpac
account and click the eStatements & eNotices button
in the left navigation of your Account Summary page.
Your new statement is listed in the left navigation
of the page.

Ahh SO !!! I always wondered where my new statement was located - "in the left navigation of the page", huh???


Well, Jas, it was great for a laugh - but, seriously, the NEXT one might look reasonable - so, thanks for the tip regarding the padlock !!!

And for those who like an occasional chuckle, www.engrish.com really is worth a look

Regards,

 

[Lissy]

thanks for the info Jas, being a Bank of Melbourne customer rather than a Westpac one, I missed this email.
And Les, yes, this effort was a bit amateurish, but the website was pretty damn good. The words of advice from Jas are still good. In the past year a couple of other banks have been hit by the same fraudsters, and in those situations (although the banks are keeping very quiet) people did have their accounts accessed and money stolen after following the email instructions.
So it's good to have a warning and know how to respond if you receive this sort of thing.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

This is one of the most common scams out there. It's the second time this year that Westpac has been hit with it.

A few tips for internet banking security:

Bookmark the login page of the bank. Only use that, never a URL which has been sent in an email.

Use a different username and password for your banking. As a lot of people use the same login details across different sites, some sites may ask you to set up an account, only to use these details against you.

Whenever you log into a site, look for the padlock at the bottom right of your browser. This means that the page you're logging into is a secure page. If it's not secure, don't give over your details.

Read 'The Art Of Deception ' by Kevin Mitnik. It'll make you paranoid about giving out information.

 

[Jas]

Originally posted by Lissy
thanks for the info Jas, being a Bank of Melbourne customer rather than a Westpac one, I missed this email.

Lissy, I'm not a Westpac customer either. Spammers just grab a bunch of email addresses, send it out and play the numbers game.

Jas

 

[Aceyducey]

BTW - I just received a similar scam directed at St George.

While St George seem to have nothing on their site & no processes to deal with enquiries about this scam (I called the customer enquiry line & told them about it - they were aware of it but still considering what they should say to people.) it appears the actual fake site has already been blocked

Stay tuned for scams directed at other Aussie banks....though if the banks can actually respond quickly enough the scammers may go to find a softer target (maybe NZ).

Cheers,

Aceyducey