Keep Yourself Protected from Account Takeover Fraud
Review advice, updates, and news from West Gate Bank!
April 5, 2023
Account takeover fraud—in which bad actors use stolen credentials to commandeer real credit cards, shopping or even website accounts—is one of the most common forms of identity theft. At West Gate Bank, the protection of your personal information is especially important to us. Here is what you need to know about account takeover fraud and how to protect yourself.
What is Account Takeover
Account takeover fraud occurs when cybercriminals gain access to your online accounts and use them to withdraw money, make purchases or extract information they can sell or use to access your other accounts. Potential targets of account takeover fraud include social media and email accounts, as well as those you use to shop or handle bank and credit card transactions.
With this information fraudsters can engage with your financial organization and make changes to accounts or card settings to execute fraud. They may make demographic changes (e.g., phone numbers, emails, passcodes), or apply for increased limits, Personal Identification Number (PIN) changes and/or travel exemptions to suppress or interfere with our fraud-monitoring tools.
How Do Criminals Get Your Account Information
Skimming and Malware
Skimming and deployment of POS terminal malware continue to be widespread methods for stealing data.
Phishing
The prevalence of phishing (tricking cardholders into revealing confidential information) and its variants continue to rise. Remember to safeguard your financial data and online banking credentials against criminals trying to harvest it.
Vishing and Smishing
Smishing is the fraudulent practice of sending text messages claiming to be from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers. Vishing is the fraudulent practice of making phone calls or leaving voice messages claiming to be from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as bank details and credit card numbers.
Malicious Software
Malicious software attacks are a significant threat to the security of financial data. This malware can monitor and hijack user web sessions to then transfer funds or harvest payment cards and online banking credentials, while redirecting you to a fictitious error page. This type of malware often deploys automatically when a user visits a compromised website.
How You Can Protect Yourself
- Be aware of what information you are choosing to submit online and never easily provide your personal information.
- If you are concerned about an automated message, you should not respond to the call, text, or email. Contact the company in question using the official customer service number on their own card or contact information listed on the company’s legitimate website. Do not contact any number provided by the fraud call or message and should not click on links in text messages.
- Always keep your two-factor authentication codes private. Do not provide them via phone, text, or email. These codes should only be used to sign into the banking, merchant, or payment account when trying to access it.