Internet Bank Fraud

Though a relatively new phenomenon, internet bank fraud affects millions of Americans every year. Internet bank fraud occurs when one party deliberately deceives another through an internet scam in order to achieve financial gain at the victim''s expense. Criminal fraudsters are always looking for new ways to accrue financial gain at the expense of others, and the internet is often their chosen means of scams and deception.

There are two major types of internet bank fraud that are currently being committed against consumers worldwide. The first is called phishing. Phishing is defined as a fraudster''s creation of emails and internet websites that mimic legitimate business, financial institution, and government email and website pages, but are in fact designed to deceive. In the case of internet bank fraud, criminals design and use emails and websites that look almost identical to bank''s legitimate website.

When phishing is used as an internet bank fraud tactic, there are several signs that consumers can identify and avoid when banking or completing any type of financial transaction over the internet. Fraudulent emails and websites will often ask a client for personal information such as their PIN number, password or some other personal identification information. A legitimate bank will never ask for a customer''s personal information in an email.

Phishing internet bank fraud will often come in the form of attachments in an email that request personal banking or financial information. The best way to avoid this type of internet bank fraud is to never provide personal banking information over the internet when it is requested through an email. If you believe that you may have provided information over the internet to an illegitimate source, it is important to contact your financial institution to have your PIN and/or password changed and to secure your assets.

Identity theft is another prominent type of internet bank fraud that can be extremely injurious to consumers. Identity theft in internet bank fraud occurs when criminals use specialized software to record keystrokes on a victim''s computer in order to decipher personal financial information about the person. These internet bank fraud criminals are then able to sign on to a legitimate banking site and access the victim''s bank account in order to commit fraud.

Internet bank fraud can also occur when consumers make online purchases over an unprotected website. The Better Business Bureau has a listing of internet merchants that provide a secure line for financial information transactions. In order to avoid internet bank fraud it is important to carefully keep track of your financial activities, never give out personal financial information requested over the internet, and to report any strange activity to your financial institution at the first sign of possible fraudulent activity.

The crime of internet bank fraud is regulated by federal consumer government agencies. Internet bank fraud is usually perpetrated as a felony offence in the criminal system, when an internet bank fraud criminal can be identified.

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Internet Bank Fraud

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