Phishers try to lure Kiwibank customers

Kiwibank is the latest to be hit by a phishing scam that aims to steal the bank account details from unsuspecting customers.

Last week BNZ and National bank customers were targeted in the scam, in which emails are sent asking for customers to update or confirm their banking details.

People who updated their details risked exposing their personal details or having a spy program installed on their computer which allowed the scammers to view everything that occurred on the computer.

Yesterday, Kiwibank posted an alert on its website saying some of its customers had also been targeted during the weekend.

The email claimed to have come from the bank and prompted customers to click on a link that would take them to the Kiwibank site.

"This is not the case - the email has not been sent by Kiwibank and the link leads to a replica fraudulent site," said the warning.

Kiwibank communications manager Bruce Thompson said the email started circulating on Saturday and was traced to a fraudulent site, believed to be in Bolivia.

Mr Thompson said the site was shut down yesterday afternoon and he was not aware of any Kiwibank customers being fooled into following the link.

Last week nearly 100 BNZ customers followed a link to a fraudulent site after receiving a phishing email.

The email is still in circulation and many people have contacted the Herald saying they returned to work yesterday to find dozens of "BNZ" emails on their systems.

Many had been picked up by company spam-blockers but some had managed to get through.

Maarten Kleintjes, national manager at the police electronic crime laboratory, said the scammers sent out thousands of the phishing emails, not all to bank customers, in the hope a handful would take the bait.

People who received phishing emails are advised to delete them immediately without opening them.

Installing firewalls, antispy and antivirus programs is also recommended as a good way to block most of the emails.

Banks say they will never ask for personal details by email - so any email asking for confirmation or an online update will be a scam.


USER BEWARE

Phishing

* An email asks you to confirm banking details. The details can then be used to access your account. The word comes from "fishing": bait is thrown out with the hopes that, while most will ignore it, some will bite.

Trojan horse

* These are malicious programs that can be downloaded when you accept a file from what appears to be a legitimate source. Some can compromise personal information.