Many people in South Africa today rely heavily on internet banking. Internet banking came as a life line to many people as it meant that their trips to the bank became fewer and fewer and a lot of transactions they would do at the banking hall could now be done whilst on the internet. It took some time for people to get to grips with internet banking but credit must go to the banks that developed relatively reliable and simple to use interfaces for the online banking portal.

The major resistance to online banking then was the fear of fraud. That fear is still pertinent today. Many people are still not comfortable shopping online using their credit card as they feel their card information maybe captured by someone else and thus be used for other activities besides there’s. It is not only the use of credit cards that is causing fear but the actual use of using the banks online portals to do banking transactions that is causing a panic.

Recently, clients from a leading local bank, ABSA, received emails asking them to provide their banking details so that their information can be verified so they can use a new and safer service. The people behind this email were very crafty as the emails they sent out looked genuine. More and more people are coming up with ways to try and con people who bank online so that they get their details such as usernames, pin numbers and passwords so they can gain access to their accounts online and use them to their advantage.

In situations like this it is highly important that the banks themselves do all they can to prevent such activities from taking place. But at the end of the day a large responsibility lies with the user themselves. Users should be vigilant at all times and should NEVER give away any of the banking details such as usernames, pins and passwords to anyone over the internet or telephone.

Those responsible for online banking fraud will continue to come up with new ways of obtaining client information and we as users of this facility should always be wary of what is happening. Some tips are: If you try to login to your online banking and the username, pin and password you always use fail, contact your bank straight away. If the website design and layout of the banking website you normally use has changed be sure to check with the bank first that they have changed the design on the website. If not, you could have been taken to a ‘fake’ website which will be capturing your banking details. When banking online through a web browser, make sure that the address in the address bar of the browser is preceded by https:// instead of the http:// we are used to. Https:// means that the website is secure, if the ‘s’ is missing then the chances are that the website is not secure.