INTERNET FRAUD: BOT warns of bogus e-mails

Customers urged not to give out personal financial details

BANGKOK: -- The Bank of Thailand (BOT) yesterday warned individuals against giving out personal financial details to e-mails claiming to come from their banks.

It also asked financial institutions to not attach forms or website addresses to e-mails sent to customers.

The requests are being made in a bid to prevent an Internet fraud involving fake e-mails that claim to come from banks and ask customers to fill in forms detailing their essential information.

A BOT official who asked not to be named, said the central bank had discovered websites with addresses similar to those of real financial institutions set up to trick customers into giving personal data. She said that e-mails sent from such sites tried to deceive customers into giving out their credit card numbers, user names and passwords for Internet banking services, and identity card numbers.

She said that the fake e-mails often claimed that the information was needed as part of a security procedure or to avoid their accounts being frozen.

“We have learnt that several customers have received e-mails from fake websites that use the names of Thai banks. Some customers have given out their data, but so far no thefts have been reported.”

She added that banks whose addresses had been faked, had posted warnings on their websites.

She said that the financial data could be abused to make electronic transactions, including the use of credit card numbers to buy goods online. She added that using fake e-mails to trick customers into giving out financial details was already a widespread problem in countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

The source said that the BOT had asked financial institutions to come up with security measures to better protect their customers.

To help stop fraud, customers are advised to type out web addresses rather than clicking on e-mail links.

--The Nation 2005-04-22

So what is new?

BOT has just caught up with what has been going on for the last 2 years

or more!!

What was that expression Taxin used,

something about "mending the fence after the cattle have strayed"??