How To AvoidBank Account Scams

Every man should know how to avoid bank account scams. Internet scams, bank fraud and identity theft are on the rise. Techniques such as "phishing" are used by scammers to obtain your personal information. The following tips can help you avoid bank account scams.

Things you'll need:

• Anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall protection

1. Do not reply or respond to bank-related emails. Bank-related emails are the classic phishing scam. These fake emails impersonate the bank and may ask you to verify your account or click on a link. Some may tell you that there was a security breach on your account, asking you to change your password. Regardless of the notice, do not provide any information to these requests.
2. Do not open any email attachments you were not expecting.
3. Do not provide any personal information via email. Email is not a secure means of communication.
4. If you must bank online, make sure you type the web address into the browser directly in order to help avoid bank account scams.  Ensure the webpage where you are entering personal information such as your username, password or any other personal/financial information is secure. The web address should begin with "https" not "http." Note that there have been security breaches even with the secure "https" address.
5. Utilize anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall protection. Make sure they are updated regularly. It is best if the software updates automatically. Furthermore, make sure you perform a computer scan as often as possible. Firewall protection is also important because helps your computer to appear invisible on the net.

If you suspect you have been subject to a bank account scam, report your complaint to the Federal Trade Commission's official website. Because victims of bank account scams are susceptible to identity theft, visit the Identity Theft section of the Federal Trade Commission's website. If you were targeted with a phishing email, forward the email to spam@uce.gov as well as to the bank that was being misrepresented in the phishing email.