Fraud Alert

Criminal activity including identity theft and fraud are more prevalent today than ever before. In an effort to obtain personal information about you, criminals may approach you pretending that they are a representative of an institution with which you do business. For this reason, ensure you know or can verify the identity of an individual or entity prior to responding, either verbal or electronic, to requests for personal or banking related information. Note that FirstBank UK does not request such information either via phone or email. Should you receive a similar request, please Contact us and report it immediately.
There are various ways a fraudster may try to deceive you into giving them your personal and security details.

Some of the most common frauds are:

Trojan

Trojans are usually emails that may contain files, pages or attachments to open. Once opened, they can secretly install a program that can monitor your online activity, down to what keys you’re pushing on what page.
This can mean the next time you enter your credit card details on your favourite online shop, the fraudsters will be alerted. To avert this fraud, we advise our customers not to download and install software from unknown sources.

Money mule/Additional income email scam

This scam involves someone offering, via an email or website, to pay funds into your account on the understanding that you then transfer them overseas. In return, you supposedly get a commission.
Many of these scams involve the proceeds of fraud and you should ignore the request. Any customer that participates will become involved in a police investigation and we could close any account involved in this scam.

Phishing Scam

Phishing is a type of deception designed to obtain and use your personal data (such as Debit card/Credit card numbers, passwords, account data, etc.) for fraudulent purposes.
Con artists might send thousands of fraudulent e-mail messages that appear to come from websites you trust, like your bank or credit card Company, and request that you provide personal information via e-mail or on an illegitimate website created by them for this purpose.

Tips to Protect Yourself from Phishing

If you receive a suspicious e-mail that appears to be from FirstBank UK please do the following:

• Do not respond to the message, or click on any of the links.
• Contact us immediately and delete the e-mail after reporting it.
• Check to make sure that your virus definitions and anti-spyware are up-to-date and scan the computer, especially if you accidentally clicked on the link or attachment in the e-mail.

Other Tips to Safeguard Your Personal Information

• Exercise extreme caution when shopping online.
• Only enter credit card and personal information when it involves a transaction you initiate and on Websites you trust.
• Always use a secure Website when submitting credit card numbers or personal information online.
• Look for the Security Certificate and https links before entering your personal information.
• Use bank services (i.e. Internet Banking, SMS Banking, Phone Banking, or ATM Banking) regularly to monitor your account activity and detect any fraudulent transactions if any.
• If using cable modems or DSL for Internet access, do not keep the connection active when not in use; also consider installing personal firewall software.
• Obtain the Secure Digital Token password generator issued by FirstBank UK as this protects your online transactions