Title of the document Online Banking Log-In Title of the document Tourist Card Log-in
Title of the document Online Banking Log-In Title of the document Tourist Card Log-in

CYBERCRIMES AND FRAUD


If something seems too good to be true, it probably is

Bank of St Helena Ltd takes our customer security very seriously and employ a wide range of measures to help keep you protected which includes multiple firewall solutions, data encryption, and fraud detection tools. With that in mind, we want to help you spot signs of fraud and cybercrimes to help protect yourself as well.

Both fraud and cyber scams are evolving and becoming more sophisticated which makes them harder to spot in their various forms. Our digital dependency provides fraudsters the opportunity to commit various types of financial fraud and we would urge customers to think before they click and learn more about being safe online.

Fraudsters use a variety of ways to trick victims including emails, text messages, social media, telephone and even in person. This webpage describes the most common types of fraud and cybercrimes and how to spot them.

What are Cybercrimes

Cybercrimes are a type of criminal activity that either targets or uses a computer or mobile device (i.e. mobile phone, tablet) or a computer network. These crimes can be aimed at gaining money or to damage computers or networks for reasons other than profit. Cybercrime can be carried out by individuals or organisations. Some cybercriminals are organised, use advanced techniques and are highly technically skilled.

Social engineering scams are a common type of cybercrime where scammers use impersonation to try and con you. They attempt to win your trust and trick you into giving them money directly or disclosing confidential information voluntarily.

These attacks are common because scammers find it easier to take advantage of your natural instinct to trust than it is to break into your systems such as your email account. Common channels scammers use are fake phone calls, chat messages, emails, web pages and apps. They are more likely to impersonate your relatives or friends, officials of trusted organisations and government agencies. This tactic is intended to convince you to give them sensitive personal information voluntarily such as your account passwords.

What is Fraud

Fraud is when trickery is used to gain a dishonest advantage, which is often financial, over another person. Personal and financial information obtained in a breach can be used to commit frauds affecting individuals, the private and public sectors alike. By harvesting personal and financial information through data breaches, criminals are able to commit fraud and damage people, businesses and services.

Victims of fraud range across vulnerable individuals, major corporations, smaller businesses, as well as the public sector. Fraud against individuals is typically targeted at elderly and other vulnerable people, for whom the consequences can often be devastating – psychologically as well as financially.

Fraud is increasingly being committed online. Where previously a fraud may have been committed by phone, post or in person, online access enables fraudsters to exploit victims remotely, often from another country. Some investment frauds, and most computer software service fraud, are known to be perpetrated from overseas.

 

Here are a few different types of Cybercrimes and Fraud:

PHISHING

Phishing is an attack in which the scammer poses as a trusted person or organisation to trick potential victims into sharing sensitive information or sending them money. As with real fishing, there’s more than one way to reel in a victim: Email phishing, smishing, and vishing are three common types.

SMISHING

A fraud which targets the users of mobile phones using text messages is referred to as a ‘SMiShing’ scam. Scammers aim to obtain private and confidential information from individuals or encourage them to ring a number or click on a link for more information. Fraudsters may spoof the message onto a genuine message thread.

VISHING

Vishing, or ‘voice call phishing’ involves phone-based phishing attempts to trick you into providing your personal information such as online banking passwords, confidential details or to persuade you to transfer money from your account.

SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS

Due to its wealth of personal information, social media has become a valuable tool for fraudsters to carry out their social engineering attacks. These scams are committed on social networking sites where scammers often create fake profiles, befriend innocent people, and send spam messages or links that lead to malicious websites.

WEBSITE SPOOFING

Website spoofing (or website scams) involves making a malicious website look like a legitimate one. The spoofed site will look like the login page for a website you frequent, down to the branding, user interface, and even a spoofed domain name that looks the same at first glance. Cybercriminals use these websites to capture your username and password or drop malware onto your computer. This is potentially more devastating because they could gain access to any information you save on that device. A scam site will generally be used in conjunction with a phishing email, in which the email will link to the website.

MALWARE

Malware attacks are any type of malicious software designed to cause harm or damage to a computer, server, client or computer network and/or infrastructure without end-user knowledge. Cyber attackers create, use and sell malware for many different reasons, but it is most frequently used to steal personal, financial or business information. While their motivations vary, cyber attackers nearly always focus their tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) on gaining access to privileged credentials and accounts to carry out their mission.

IDENTITY THEFT

Identity theft occurs when criminals access enough personal information about an individual to commit fraud. They use various techniques to steal these details, from outright theft and social engineering to harvesting data through cybercrime. With this information, criminals can impersonate the victim in order to access bank accounts, fraudulently claim benefits or obtain genuine documents in the victim’s name.

INVESTMENT SCAMS

Investing in stocks and shares or any other commodity can be a successful way of making money. However, it can also lead to people losing their entire life savings. Criminals will persuade you to invest in all kinds of products. They will offer you high rates of return, particularly over longer periods of time, which often do not exist.

Some additional food for thought
Bank of St Helena Security Features
What are they and when will I need them?

ONLINE BANKING LOG-IN

  • Customer ID: Provided by the Bank
  • Password: Set by you and not recorded by the Bank
  • Security Code: Set by you and not recorded by the Bank

ONLINE BANKING HELP DESK

  • Newer Customers – We will ask you for your 8-Digit Security Code or Memorable Date you set when applying for Online Banking
  • Older Customers – We will ask one of the security questions you set when applying for Online Banking (e.g. Name of childhood pet)

LOCAL DEBIT CARD

  • Card Security Number – 6-digit number you set when you activated your card
  • Bank of St Helena does not record your PIN Number

Do you suspect you have been a victim of cybercrime or fraud?

Your first point of contact should be the Police to report the crime.

If you need help blocking your Bank Cards or changing your Online Banking Details please contact us on

(+290) 22829