Security Tip: protecting yourself against phishing attempts
About “Phishing”?
Phishing e-mails encourage you to divulge personal information such as your banking security credentials, may contain links to false banking sites or request that you click “download” links which could leave you vulnerable to malware. You should never click on these links unless you know that the link is genuine. HSBC and other companies abiding by industry standards will not send e-mails requesting or containing your security or confidential details and any links within HSBCnet e-mails will only take you to our own information pages.
We will never ask you to enter or confirm your security details through an e-mail or to “download” material through links in our e-mails. By contrast, this is typically what a phishing e-mail does when it tries to obtain your security details or attempts to get you to download malware. Report suspicious incidents to hsbcnet.phishing@hsbc.com.
What should I do if I receive a suspicious e-mail?
If in doubt, delete the e-mail without opening it. This caution should apply to all unexpected e-mails with links or attachments. If you are suspicious of an e-mail that claims to come from HSBC, please forward it to hsbcnet.phishing@hsbc.com. We take these matters very seriously and will investigate the e-mail in question.
How do I know that a fraud or phishing attempt is underway?
The following types of experiences should be taken seriously and reported to your local HSBCnet support team immediately:
- When logging in to HSBCnet, you are presented with a message saying that HSBCnet is unavailable AFTER you have entered your username and security credentials. Alternately, the error message might give a set time that HSBCnet will return, e.g. 15 minutes
- You are presented with a security check/verification screen that requires you to wait for 1-10 minutes
- You are prompted repeatedly to reenter your username, password or security code
- You are asked to enter beneficiary account information that you don't recognise and does not relate back to an invoice
- You are presented with an error message referring to a 'synchronisation' problem asking you to enter the code generated by your Security Device
- You see any screens that you think are unusual or are missing information
How can I protect myself further?
It is important to download new browser security patches when they are available because they are designed to provide you with protection from known security problems. In addition, do not install pirated software or software from unknown providers.
Additionally, the single most important thing you can do to protect yourself against malware and viruses is installing a firewall and virus protection software on your computer or local area network (LAN). Reputable firewall and virus protection vendors will provide regular software updates to ensure that you are protected against new hacking attempts. You must be vigilant in keeping this protection up to date.
HSBC has made it easy to keep up to date by teaming up with Webroot to offer its award-winning, anti-virus and malware detection software at no charge, exclusively to HSBCnet online banking customers. And with Webroot SecureAnywhere you don’t have to worry about remembering to download the latest update or patch. The cloud-based platform is compatible with existing security applications and ensures you always have the latest protection – no need to download updates. For more information about Webroot SecureAnywhere online protection select the Webroot article from the Service Updates. |
