Fake Natwest scam is on the way.
Fraudsters set up a profile with the user handle NatWest_HelpTM and messaged users who had contacted NatWest's real customer service team with issues. The fake NatWest profile imitated the appearance of the genuine NatWest account and linked to a so-called phishing site.
Customers were directed to the fake site and encourage to input personal and account details.
Unsuspecting users could be duped into giving information because this is similar to how banks' real service teams operate on the site.
Britain's biggest banks all have Twitter customer service accounts and directly approach and react to users complaining about the provider.
Teams behind the accounts typically fast-track complaints after users have privately messaged their account details.
As a result, many people it easier and faster to resolve issues by simply sending a tweet rather than phoning or emailing their bank.
Twitter users with bank problems are urged to only respond to verified bank Twitter accounts, which can be distinguished by a blue tick attached to the profile.
Banks report fake accounts to Twitter to disable but in can be a number of hours before a profile is completely taken out of action.
It's the not the first time the bank has been impersonated by criminals.
Last year two fake accounts NatWest_Quick account and NatWest_UK also tried to con twitter users.
A NatWest spokesperson said: "We know how distressing fraud can be for all involved and provide ongoing support to our customers to deal with the effects, which may include refund or tracing the stolen money.
"There are an extremely large number of sophisticated online scams affecting banking customers across the sector. We work closely with the police and crime agencies to try and prevent this crime, and communicate frequently with our customers about our security measures and specific threats.
"We will never ask customers for their password, full pin, card details or security information over twitter, over the phone or when they log-in to the banking system online.
"We’d advise all of our customers to familiarise themselves with guidance on keeping safe from scams that we have available online at www.natwest.com/security".
0 comments: