Trinidad Bankers Warn Customers About Phishing Fraud

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago November 14, 2017 (CMC) – The Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BATT) has warned customers to be wary of persons posing as bank employees, in a bid to acquire information regarding their personal banking accounts.

In a statement, BATT said that it had become aware of text messages being sent to people, requesting their confidential banking and personal information.

BATT added that the scammers were asking customers to update their banking details “by filling out a particular form and return it to an e-mail address purportedly that of the bank”.

“These messages are fraudulent,” BATT said, reminding customers that phishing is a type of identity theft, where criminals use e-mails to try to bait people into visiting fake websites or using other methods to solicit personal information.

“Once there, you are asked to disclose confidential financial and personal information, like passwords, credit card numbers, access codes or national identification numbers. The most familiar type of phishing scam is an e-mail threatening consequences if you do not log in and take action immediately,” the Association said.

BATT said it is “strongly” advising customers not to respond to any messages such as texts, e-mails or private messages on social media.

The bankers are also urging people not to open attachments or click on suspicious links from reputable institutions or unknown senders who are asking for personal or financial information.

“Always remember that your bank will never send you unsolicited messages asking for confidential information,” BATT said.