HSBC Alerts Customers of Hoax E-Mail

A warning from HSBC Malta alerts its customers about a phishing e-mail that asks them to give out their account information. A link in the e-mail posing to be from the bank leads the unsuspecting customers to the request. The e-mail originating from a Brazilian phishing portal says that the bank lost its account data during its last round of system maintenance. As a result, errors have sprouted on various accounts of the customers, as reported by Maltamedia on June 13, 2007.

HSBC Malta has, however, cautioned its customers to disregard the e-mail since banks never send e-mails enquiring such information.

HSBC is drawing its customers' attention to the hoax e-mail message disguised as HSBC correspondence that contains a hyperlink to a spoofed site. The fraudulent site instructs recipients to disclose their private information including username and password of their online banking accounts.

HSBC cautions its customers to make sure they are on the true HSBC site before entering their confidential details. Customers should connect to their online banking accounts by typing the website address in the browser's address bar. Alternatively, they could bookmark the website and access their account from there.

According to HSBC, it regards the privacy and secrecy of customer data with extreme earnestness. The bank assures it has equipped its online banking service technology with the highest standard of security to keep customers safe against fraud.

By virtue of its one-time password device the bank asks its e-banking users to give a one-time security code over and above their user ID and password and use them to log on the online banking site. This extra security measure provides added protection to customers against cyber crimes like hacking, screen capturing, phishing and keylogger Trojan.

The spoof e-mail that provides as a signature "On-line Banking Service, HSBC Bank Malta plc" entices users to follow a link provided in the email and recollect data to help update problem databases with the correct information.

To verify if the bank has genuinely sent any e-mails customers could dial 2380-2380 for HSBC Malta. For further knowledge, the actual URL of HSBC Malta is www.hsbc.com.mt.

Related article: HSBC’s Website Faces False Trojan Warning from Kaspersky Lab

» SPAMfighter News - 6/29/2007