General Advice

General Advice and Recommendations

The Security of Your Computer

Having a secure and functional device is one of the prerequisites for a secure transaction. Below you can read some tips for securely configuring your computer.

  1. Your computer should always be updated with the latest updates for its operating system and the apps you are using;
  2. Install and configure an antimalware program;
  3. Install or enable a firewall to protect yourself from unauthorised access to your computer;
  4. Use an account that does not have administrator privileges to work on your computer;
  5. Create a strong password for your account (see the password creation guide in the recommendation section);
  6. You should regularly backup all relevant data in the system;
  7. You can additionally secure sensitive information by encrypting it on your computer;
  8. Always log out before leaving your computer.

Safe Use of Wireless Networks (WiFi)

  1. Always set strong passwords on your wireless device (to access the device and to connect to the wireless network), any devices you buy usually have default passwords that can be easily guessed;
  2. If you are making transactions over wireless networks, make sure you are making them over a secure communication channel (e.g. https);
  3. Be careful when accessing unknown wireless networks, use the tips in the Security of Your Computer section.

Safe Use of E-mail

E-mail is an integral part of any business, making it one of the main focus points for potential attackers trying to scam you or compromise your computer.

SPAM

Spam messages are mostly messages of commercial nature and aim to place various offers and information to as many users as possible. Nowadays, most ISPs offer quite effective services for detecting and removing such messages. Similar mechanisms are most commonly found in antivirus software that users install.

Phishing or Network Theft

What is Phishing?

Phishing or network theft is an attempt to steal internet users’ data through a forged website. Usually, a link to such a page is found in e-mails or chat messages that are sent at random, in an attempt to deceive customers and get them to disclose information on a fake website. These messages usually state that it is necessary to update or confirm your account information, and clients are urged to click the link provided in the e-mail that directs them to the fake website. All information that you enter on a fake website gets into the hands of criminals who then use it for their illegal purposes.

How do I Avoid Becoming a Victim of Phishing?

Most importantly, you need have a certain amount of suspicion regarding unwanted or unexpected e-mails you receive, even when they appear to come from a reliable source. These messages are sent completely randomly, in the hope that they will arrive at an active email address of a client with an account at the targeted bank. Although a bank may contact you via e-mail, banks will never send you a message requiring you to enter your password or any other confidential information by clicking a link to visit a website. Wait a little while and think about how your bank might otherwise interact with you and never reveal your full password or any personal information.

How to Identify a Phishing E-mail?

1- Who is the email from?

Phishing messages may look like they come from a real bank e-mail address. Unfortunately, because of the e-mail system, it is relatively easy for those involved in these illegal activities to create a fake entry in the “From” box. The e-mail address that appears in the “From” field in the message is NOT a guarantee that it comes from the person or organisation listed in the e-mail address. These messages were not sent through the banking system.

2- Who is the e-mail for?

E-mails are sent randomly to a large number of addresses and the people who deal with them are almost certainly unaware of your real name or anything else about you, and they address you in general terms like “Dear, Valuable Clients”.

3- Look at the e-mail more carefully - does it look suspicious?

The first thing to remember is that banks will never write to you and ask you for your password or other confidential information via e-mail. Likewise, such a message is likely to contain words that are misspelled or capitalised in the “Subject” field: (this is an attempt to bypass the spam filter), as well as grammatical and orthographic errors.

Never log in to your e-banking account by clicking on the link provided in the e-mail. It is our recommendation that you use the links provided on the bank’s official website or enter the bank’s e-banking website yourself into the search engine address bar.

4 - Where does the hyperlink lead to?

Unfortunately, it is too easy to mask the right destination of the link, so the link shown can be easily forged, as well as anything that appears in the status bar of your e-mail program.

How To Identify A Phishing Website? What is the Website Address?

If you visit a website by clicking the link provided in the e-mail, there are many ways to mask the true location of the fake website in the address bar. A page address may start with the domain name of the real page, but there is no guarantee that it will lead to the right page. Other tricks include using numeric addresses, registering similar addresses (such as www.mybank-verify.com) and even inserting a fake address bar into your web browser window. Many of the links from those sites may indeed lead to the right website, but do not let that fool you. You can check that you are on the bank’s official, secure website by comparing the secure connection symbols. Click on the “padlock” icon and you will see a security certificate for the website (see Secure Information Transfer with https protocol in the Recommendations section).

You can check the Security Certificate of the bank’s website by clicking on the “padlock” that appears on your web browser. Beware of counterfeit pop-ups. Instead of displaying a completely fake webpage, phishing users can load an authentic webpage into the main web browser window and then place their own fake popup window that will pop up across it. If the page is displayed this way, you will see the address bar of the authentic web page in the background, but all the information you enter in the popup window will be picked up by scammers for their own purposes. To access your e-banking account, type the address yourself in a new window, or use the links provided on the bank’s official website. The address of your authentic e-banking site starts with “https” and contains a small padlock on your web browser window.

Travel Tips

  1. Never leave cards and other valuables in the hotel room or on the beach - use the hotel safe boxes;
  2. Always carry your cards with you when traveling. Suitcases are not a safe place to store your cards;
  3. When in a crowd, hold your bag tightly under your arm or strap it;
  4. If you are travelling in a car while on holiday, keep your handbags and wallets out of reach of thieves, especially if you are in a traffic jam or are driving slowly. Never leave cards and other valuables in the car in the parking lot;
  5. When you are getting ready, make sure to always have a phone number of your bank’s call centre on you, so that you can report card theft or loss immediately after the event.
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