UK loan customers targeted by data hijackers
Reported cases of data hijacking (otherwise known as phishing) amongst personal loan and financial product customers, have almost tripled since the start of the year.
According to a leading online payment firm (APACs) more than ten thousand cases of fraudulent activity have been reported by consumers over the last 3 months. For those who are unfamiliar with the term or concept, data hijacking is the process in which fraudsters attempt to retrieve an individuals personal information, by luring them to rouge web pages disguised to look as if they are owned or are affiliated to reputable, well known firms or institutions.
In most cases, criminals will use email communication to advise a person that their details need to be updated, often presenting a link to a page in which their information can be submitted and subsequently captured. Needless to say, once this information has been retrieved it is then abused in all manner of ways, often causing the victim more than just a simple inconvenience.
A representative for the institution has advised consumers to be vigilant and extremely wary of any suspicious mails. The general rule of thumb is that no official financial / credit institution will request case sensitive account information in an email, and the temptation to respond should be quashed immediately. It is also important to inform the “actual” organisation portrayed within the mail straight away, so as to enable them to take the necessary steps to protect others from such scams.
