Online security

Safe use of the internet

The most common forms of cyber threats are unauthorized viewing, deletion or modification of data while it is being transmitted, and obtaining personal data and confidential data under the pretext of a trusted institution or person. The means used by cyber thieves and fraudsters to achieve such goals are:

• Viruses and worms: programs that automatically reproduce and spread to other systems via email, causing unauthorised tampering with data;
• Trojans: programs that intercept and record passwords and other confidential information, sending it to a third party;
• Pharming: changing the system settings or infecting servers that direct traffic is unintentionally redirecting the user (despite the correct address) to a fake website. Most often, luring is a means of achieving "fishing";
• Intrusion: unauthorized access to the user's system via the Web.

In practice, in addition to each method, there may also be a combination of methods (e.g. intrusion of PC by means of a virus or Trojan Horse).

The most common online scams through which fraudsters try to obtain your personal and confidential information for the purpose of financial gain on your account are presented below, and more detailed information about each of them can be found in the leaflets at the links:

• Spoofed bank websites: Bank phishing emails usually include links that will take you to a spoofed bank website, where you are requested to divulge your financial and personal information..
• CEO fraud: It occurs when an employee authorised to make payments is tricked into paying a fake invoice or making an unauthorised transfer out of the business account.
• Invoice fraud: The company is approached by someone who pretends to represent a supplier / service provider / creditor. The fraudster requests a change in the bank details (i.e. the payee's bank account details) to pay for future bills.
• Online shopping scams: Look out for offers in online stores, especially if they are unusually affordable.
• Investment scams: Common investment scams may include lucrative investment opportunities such as shares, bonds, cryptocurrencies, rare metals, overseas land investments or alternative energy.
• Romance scam: Scammers target victims on dating websites, but can also use social media or email to make contact.
• Phishing: Retrieving passwords and other confidential information through fake websites that (most often) capture genuine pages, tricking users to provide their confidential information.
• Email phishing: Refers to fraudulent emails that trick recipients into sharing their personal, financial or security information.
• Smishing (a combination of the words SMS and Phishing): It is an attempt by fraudsters to obtain personal, financial or security information through text messages.
• Vishing (a combination of the words Voice and Phishing): A phone scam in which fraudsters try to trick the victim into revealing personal, financial or security information or into transferring money to them.