Banks' warning over online crime

With banks losing more than £30m to online crime last year, consumers are now being warned they must start taking responsibility for their own security or lose out. Repeatedly responding to fraudulent requests for financial details could result in the bank not paying back consumers.

It comes as a report claims there is a new victim of cyber crime in the UK every ten seconds, with more than three million offences committed last year. The vast majority involve cases of online harassment, including threatening emails and blackmail.

Our technology correspondent Benjamin Cohen explains:

How serious a problem is cyber crime?

It's on the increase and bear in mind, most of it's not reported. Latest figures suggest victim hit every ten seconds and it's not just financial fraud. Among the most common crimes committed are:

Online abuse - with case of psychological harm, bullying and sites like bebo and facebook experiencing racism and homophobia.

Online sexual offences - Child abuse and grooming in addition to unwarranted sexual approaches via work email/ facebook etc.

Online financial fraud - You get an email claiming to be from your bank asking you to verify your information- the victim visits a fake bank website where their details are recorded. Money is then collected into a uk bank account of another victim and then sent overseas where the trail ends.

So fraud costs banks a lot of money each year- will they continue to pay out to consumers who fall victim?

They do pay out in most cases, but it's costing banks £33.5m last year - a rise of £23.2 million on 2005.

But paying out when its not banks fault is not financially viable long term so banks say consumers need to take responsibility.

The banking industry reviewing its practises new code relation to online banking, the review will out in March 2008.

Online banking safety tips

There are a few ways online thieves can steal your money from your bank accounts - the most popular being "phishing" and "trojan horses".

What is Phishing?

"Phishing" is the practice of sending fake emails to people that appear to be coming from their bank asking them to login to their account.

The emails will appear to be genuine bank emails by using replica graphics, text and logos. Typically, the user is asked to click on a link to their bank to enter their details.

If the user does so they will be redirected to a fake bank website that again appears to be an exact replica of the real website, but when the user attempts to login, the bogus site will record the users details and send it on to the thieves.

This information can either be used to access your account, create fake identities or be sold to the highest bidder.

How do I protect myself?

The key to protecting yourself is to realise your bank will never contact you to request that you provide your security details for whatever reason. Be suspicious of any call or email that ultimately asks you to enter in vital details.

For more information on how to spot and view phishing examples, view the Bank Safe Online website:

Bank Safe Online: phishing explained

What are Trojans?

Based upon the name "Trojan horse" Trojans are computer viruses that secretly become installed upon your computer. Once installed, they are able to monitor what keys you press (called "key logging") and take screenshots when you visit certain websites.

These details are then sent from your computer to thieves via the internet.

The Trojans can be installed upon your computer in a manner of ways - either as an unwanted addition to a download off the web or getting users to visit malicious websites (via email spams) that will install the Trojan on your PC once you've visited them.

How do I protect myself?

The most effective defense against Trojans is a good up-to-date security package with a firewall. You should also use caution when being asked to click on any unknown website from a spam email.

For more information on how to spot and view Trojan examples, view the Bank Safe Online website:

Bank Safe Online: trojans explained

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