e-mails from banks

saver_1_2

Does anyone know if banks ever send e-mails and ask you to click here or there to up date your account.I have just started banking with Halifax [well the past 7 months] But in my hot mail junk box i often get e-mails from lots of banks i have no dealings with which i just delete. Recently i have been getting e-mails from Halifax saying my on line account has been suspended until i click on a link to resolve the problem. I had such an e-mail so i went to my on line account and ignored the e-mail and everything was fine. So how do i know if Halifax send me a e-mail it is for real or not.

Thanks

charlieboycat

saver_1 wrote: »

So how do i know if Halifax send me a e-mail it is for real or not.

Thanks

Phone them and ask - but it looks to me like you've been phished. NEVER follow links in emails or ring numbers given in emails - always go direct to what you know to be their genuine website or phone what you know to be a genuine number.

stclair

You may find this information useful.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/securityandprivacy/security-centre-home/common-threats/phishing/

http://banksafeonline.org.uk/index.html

pinkdalek

It's a scam, that e-mail is sent to thousands of e-mail addresses in the hope one person is a Halifax customer and falls for the fraud trap. Just delete.

Probi

Do exactly what you said you did last time, log into your online banking yourself (making sure you type the URL in the address bar yourself, dont just click on any links even if they have been remember in the drop down of the address bar.) and if there is anything genuine you need to know it will tell you when you login.

cluons

And the annoying thing is that some businesses try hard to make their genuine emails almost indistinguishable from scams.

I signed up for the Noddle/Callcredit trial (ok, not a bank, but close enough) and got an email today that almost looked like a scam - i.e. "just click this link" with the link text being different from the actual link.

missile

I find it irritating that isps and financial services do didly squat to try to track down and stop these scammers.

ChiefGrasscutter

Have an email address ONLY used for banks/building societies.
They will probably be the most secure organisation in keeping your email confidential.

Then when any email purporting to come from a bank comes in to your general email address you will know its false.

Personally I have three addresses. One for banks, one for general use mostly with people in my address book, and one for internet shopping, forum sign ups etc.....and of course it's this last one that gets all the crap in it, false emails from banks etc

MoneySaverLog

Never trust any email claiming to be from the bank. If it is genuine, they will ask you to call them, or pop into a branch. Only call the number you know as their phone banking number, never trust the numbers given in any email they can be phishing too.

Edit: One other thing never trust any incoming calls claiming to be from the bank, often they will create a sense of urgency by claiming to be from the "fraud department" about suspicious transactions on your account. They are phishing too. Never confirm any details, ask for their name and contact details within the bank and then call them back on a known number. Not one they have given you!

pinkdalek

missile wrote: »

I find it irritating that isps and financial services do didly squat to try to track down and stop these scammers.

Same could be said for the police.

saver_1_2

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Put my mind at rest as my account still seems okay. I'll just carry on deleting them