Fraud alerts are going out from U.S. banks within the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an email sent out earlier in the week , Bank of America advised its customers to not answer unsolicited requests for his or her account or personal information like access codes, PINs or Federal Student Aid (FSA) IDs.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank offered advice that each one cybersecurity analysts give: validate a suspicious email request by finding the official telephone number of the organization and calling that number.
On an internet page dedicated to Internet fraud, the Bank offers samples of popular scams.
“There’s been a change within the transfer for closing, please now send the cash to…” is an example given by the bank of a standard email scam.
That echoes a warning from the FBI earlier this month about a rise in fraud that requests a last-minute change in wire instructions or recipient account information.
Citibank also chimed in, warning its customers via email about protecting their accounts within the wake of the outbreak.
“Unfortunately, in uncertain times like these, fraudsters attempt to cash in of things ,” the e-mail said, which links to a Citibank coronavirus page.
Citibank advises customers to line up “Fraud Early Warning” triggers on accounts and to observe out for suspicious emails including “medical advice and coverings .”
Wells Fargo also features a dedicated COVID-19 page, warning customers to get on the lookout for phishing scams.
“Scammers follow the headlines, and unfortunately, we tend to ascertain an increase in fraudulent activity in times of vulnerability as criminals attempt to catch people off-guard,” Gary Owen, Wells Fargo’s chief information security officer, said during a statement.
“If there’s any uncertainty, don’t answer requests for information, and go straight to the source to verify legitimacy if possible,” Owen said, adding that “when Wells Fargo contacts a customer, for instance , we’ll never invite a card PIN, access code, or online banking password.”
Best practices that Wells Fargo and other banks recommend include choosing usernames and passwords that change from account to account. Other advice includes creating strong passwords with a singular phrase – preferably not within the dictionary – with a mixture of letters and numbers.
Activating two-factor authentication is additionally advised.
“Banks are stepping up to remind us that albeit much of lifestyle is currently pack up , cybercrime hasn’t and vigilance is required,” Warren Poschman, senior solutions architect at data security firm comforte AG, told Fox News, adding that “the ill and elderly being a number of the foremost unfortunate targets.”
As of Friday morning, quite 2.1 million coronavirus cases are diagnosed worldwide, quite 672,000 of which are within the U.S., the foremost impacted country on the earth .
