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Beware of scams and fraud

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How to identify and avoid financial threats

Financial fraud is on the rise throughout the world, its important to know how to identify and prevent them from happening to you and your loved ones.

How it happens

There are many forms of fraud, scams and financial theft. Three of the most common include:

  • Online and mobile banking fraud, where criminals access someone's bank account via the internet or mobile banking.
  • Common online threats, such as computer viruses, malware, or phishing, where a hacker attempts to take control of a computer or mobile in order to access login details, passwords and other personal data.
  • Banking security, including telephone fraud, thefts from ATMs and other scams.

How to avoid it

There are several simple precautions you can take to avoid becoming a victim of a scam or fraud:

  1. Never give your password, PIN number or memorable information to anyone else. Your bank will never ask this information from you.
  2. Change your passwords every few months. A strong password needn't be difficult to remember.
  3. If you receive an email that claims to be from your bank, check it carefully. Unless you are absolutely certain it is genuine, don't click on any link it contains.
  4. Keep your computer updated and install a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software.

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