Remain constantly vigilant this festive season and guard against internet banking fraud

Regrettably, many people in South Africa still fall prey to such fraudulent activities arguably owing to either lack of consumer awareness or too many messages communicated in the market - some of which are confusing or information heavy.

On the other hand fraudsters continue to be relentless and expand their levels of criminal sophistication year after year.

A case in point is the fact that internet banking security is no longer an add-on option but essential to people’s peace of mind when transacting. In light of the heightened transactional volumes during this time of year, it has become imperative for consumers to mitigate the various risks by not only being vigilant at all times but ensuring they consider online banking as their choice of channel.

It is against this background that Nedbank continues to enhance its internet banking platform with the latest being its security feature Approve-it™, a state-of-the-art system that allows clients to authenticate internet banking transactions from their cellphones. Approve-it™ replaced the one-time password (OTP) system and enables clients to view transaction details on their cellphones and then decide to approve the transaction or reject it should they suspect that their profile has been compromised, thereby reducing the risk of fraudulent attacks.

Since the launch of Approve-it™ in March 2012, Nedbank reported a reduction of 99% in phishing losses when compared to the same period in 2011. The bank also confirmed that approximately 36 million secure online transactions were conducted since inception.

Approve-it™ forms part of Nedbank’s key strategic business drivers – to lead in digital banking by providing secure, easy-to-do banking, anytime, anywhere including its award winning Nedbank App Suite™ which was awarded the Best Android App in the consumer category of the MTN App of the Year Awards 2013.

The Nedbank App Suite™ provides clients with a one-of-a-kind, customisable and accessible banking, financial services and lifestyle mobile experience with more than 325 000 downloads to date via BlackBerry, Apple (iPhone and iPad), Android (phones and tablets) and selected Nokia devices.

Key points to keep top of mind:

• Never access internet banking through a bookmark or saved page.

• Ensure to install the free Rapport Trusteer made available to you by Nedbank. This gives additional protection that standard antivirus software cannot offer including state-of-the-art protection against phishing and malware targeting online banking.

• Phishing can be conducted using SMSs (smishing) or even telephonically (vishing), where someone pretends to call you from a bank’s call centre. Nedbank will never contact you and request your personal details or private identification and authentication details such as your profile number, identity number, PIN and/or password.

• If you receive a phone call from individuals who claim to be from you mobile operator requesting you to switch off your phone, do not do so and contact your mobile service provider to ensure that you do not fall victim to a SIM Swap.

• Do not open emails or email attachments from unknown sources. If you receive an email from your bank that offers you a hyperlink or button or contains any attachment that looks like your bank's internet banking site or asks for your internet banking details, do not respond to the email. Forward it to the bank and then delete it.

• Never respond to emails that threaten the suspension of your account or profile if you do not take immediate action by providing personal information or request the confirmation, verification or refreshing of your account, credit card or banking details.

• If you think your personal details may have been compromised, inform your bank and change your internet banking PIN and password immediately.

• Keep your operating system and browser patches up to date, since these include important security enhancements, which assist with the detection of phishing sites and malware.

• Install and maintain up-to-date antivirus and antispyware software, as such software can reduce the likelihood of someone accessing your personal information stored on your personal computer/laptop.

• Avoid using publicly accessible PCs, such as in internet cafés, hotels and libraries for your online banking. If you need to perform transactions away from home, use USSD or WAP on your cellphone.