Security Advice from RBS
We are committed to protecting you when you bank with us. Our banking services are designed with your security in mind. To learn more about our services and how you can better protect yourself, select any of the topics below:
Shoulder Surfing (Jun 07)
Ever felt the heat of someone breathing down your neck when using the ATM or in shops, just as you are completing a transaction? If the answer is yes, then you are not alone.
Unfortunately, criminals will attempt to obtain your account and/or PIN details by means of looking over your shoulder. It is therefore imperative that you are fully aware when using your card at anytime, whether at home, or abroad.
For your peace of mind always protect your card details:
- Always keep your card out of sight and in a safe place, when not in use
- Never tell anyone your PIN number
- When you receive a new PIN number, memorise it straightaway and destroy the slip
- Always stand close to the machine ensuring that no-one can see you enter your PIN
- Don’t accept help from strangers and don’t let anyone distract you
- If someone looks suspicious or gets too close while you’re using the machine, cancel the transaction and move away
- When you have finished your transaction, put your card and money away quickly before you leave the ATM
- Where pavement hatchings exist always observe these whilst waiting to use the ATM
- At shop checkouts, keypads should be appropriately positioned and shielded against prying eyes, however you should still be aware of anyone looking over your shoulder as you key your PIN
For general advice in relation to protecting your personal details such as Pins, passwords, card details, and staying safe while banking online, please visit:
www.rbs.co.uk/security
Credit Card Safety
Credit cards offer an ideal balance of convenience and flexibility. That’s a combination of benefits that is as attractive to fraudsters as it is to you. Following these tips will help you better protect yourself against the fraudulent use of your cards:
1. Don’t hand over valuable card or bank account information.
Never give your PIN or bank passwords in response to unsolicited calls or e-mails. RBS will never ask you for your full PIN and password.
2. Keep your cards and card details in a safe place.
Most Internet fraud happens because card details are stolen from paperwork or documentation that’s been thrown away. Keep your credit card statements in a safe place and always shred any paperwork relating to your credit card before you throw it away. We recommend that password and PIN are never written down.
3. Always take a moment to thoroughly check your statements.
Check your statements as soon as you receive them. If you find a transaction on your statement that you did not make, contact your bank or card company immediately.
4. Only shop at secure websites.
Ensure that the security icon – the locked padlock or unbroken key symbol – is showing in the bottom of your browser window before sending your card details. The beginning of the retailer’s Internet address will change from "http" to "https" when a purchase is made using a secure connection.
Tip: By double clicking on the padlock, you will receive confirmation that the padlock is still valid.
5. Get extra online protection by signing-up for Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode.
Increasingly when you go to pay online with your card you will be given the option of signing up to these schemes that involve you using a password. By signing up you will prevent fraudsters using your card details on participating sites as only you will know your password.
6. Consider using an Internet-only card.
If you regularly make transactions over the Internet consider opening a separate credit card account specifically for these transactions. This would enable you to monitor transactions at a glance and limit the available credit line should anything go wrong.
7. Print out your order.
When shopping online make sure you get a hard copy of both your order form and the retailer’s terms and conditions. When buying from overseas remember that it may be difficult to resolve any issues that may arise, but having all the relevant information will help your bank or building society take up the case if you do have any problems.
See www.cardwatch.org.uk for more information on cards and also visit our Online Banking Safety section about how to bank and shop safely online.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group does not endorse or indemnify information carried on sites outside of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Stay Alert: Non-Internet Fraud
Remember that fraud wasn’t invented especially for the internet: other types of fraud are still more common than online fraud. Stay alert and follow these tips to help keep your details secure:
- When receiving unexpected telephone calls, be cautious if you’re asked for personal information.
Remember that they have instigated the call and should already know who you are.
If you receive a call requesting your complete security details do not reply and do not follow the instructions even if the caller suggests that you need to take immediate action to stop your account being frozen or if they suggest that you may incur a fine if you don’t. These are just tricks that the fraudster is using to manipulate you in to giving away your vital details.
If you’re ever in doubt, take the caller’s name and call them back using your usual telephone banking number and not the number they may give you.
- RBS will never ask for your full security number, password, or four-digit card PIN.
- Always take a moment to thoroughly check your statements.
Check your statements as soon as you receive them. If you find a transaction on your statement that you did not make, contact your bank or card company immediately. - Destroy unwanted financial and personal papers.
Always shred these papers before throwing them away. If you don't do this, criminals can find out your name, address and other details by going through your household rubbish. Examples of such papers are:- old bank statements
- discarded or partially completed application forms
- renewal notices
- partially completed direct debit or standing order mandates
- detailed mailshots
- Keep your plastic cards and chequebooks in separate, secure, locations.
- Call your bank immediately in the case of loss or theft.
Tell your bank immediately if your chequebook or cards have been lost or stolen. - Let the bank know about your current details.
Let your bank know as soon as possible when you change your:- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- E-mail address (if this is how we communicate with you)
- We are aware of incidents where bank customers have been approached to allow their accounts to be used for the receipt of funds on behalf of third parties, normally with the offer of a commission payment. These funds are often the proceeds of fraud and such requests should be refused whatever the circumstances. Allowing your account to be used for third party transactions may lead to the closure of your account. Any such transaction, together with related parties, could become subject to police investigation.
- We are aware of an increase in the number of forged and counterfeit bank drafts which are being presented at banks across the Financial Services industry in the UK and Ireland. It is important that you are aware of potential implications when receiving a bank draft in exchange for goods or services and of the steps that you can take to protect yourself against this type of fraud. For more information visit the British Banking Association's website. ‘’A Guide to understanding a bank draft"
- If you ever think that your account details have been obtained by a third party without good cause, please contact your branch immediately.
- For more useful information and advice on this topic, visit the following sites:
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group does not endorse or indemnify information carried on sites outside of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Stay Safe Online with these 3 Simple Steps
Step 1: Protect Your Computer
To protect your computer you will need to use anti-virus software, maintain a firewall, and ensure that your computer software (your OS or operating system) is up-to-date:
- Install and maintain antivirus software
Anti-virus software protects your computer in two ways. First, it detects and removes any computer viruses and spyware that have been installed on your computer without your permission. Second, it prevents viruses and spyware from infecting your computer and compromising your online security.
If you do have antivirus software (like Norton Anti-Virus, McAfee Antivirus, or Zone Alarm Anti-virus) update your virus definitions at least once a week to keep the latest threats at bay.
- Maintain a firewall
The firewall is a security application that sits between your computer and the internet shielding your PC from unauthorised access. Any PC that you use to access the internet should use a firewall.
We recommend that your Firewall is set to monitor both incoming and outgoing internet traffic – this ensures that you have control over information that enters and leaves your PC.
Windows XP and Mac OS X have firewalls built into them. Consult your help menus for instructions on checking or setting up your firewall. In addition, you can download free firewall applications from sites like Download.com or obtain a firewall in a commercially available product.
- Ensure that your computer software is up-to-date
You should regularly check for updates to your operating system and your most commonly used applications. If you have a Windows computer, you should visit the Windows Update site once or twice each month. If you have an Apple computer running OS X, you should run the Software Update tool once or twice each month. For patches / updates for any of your software applications, visit the software publisher’s website.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group does not endorse or indemnify information carried on sites outside of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Step 2: Keep Your Identity Secure
In step one, we looked into what you can do to make your computer more secure. Here, in step two, we take a look at simple measures that you can take to keep your personal information secure:
- Look after your security details
Remember that we will never ask you to supply your complete password in order to access our internet banking service – we only ever ask for parts of your password.
Your Security Number and Password are the key to your online accounts and information. You should keep these in a safe place, never share them with any one else, and change your password regularly to ensure its security.
- Watch out for fraudulent (or ‘phishing’) e-mails
Phishing is a fraud technique commonly used to attempt to trick people into revealing their security number and password to fraudsters. Here is how a phishing scam typically works: The fraudster sends out a fake e-mail that has been designed to look like it comes from a reputable source (like Zenix). This fake e-mail asks for security details or directs customers to a counterfeit banking or commerce site. At the counterfeit site, the fraudster asks the customer to enter their complete security details – password, security questions, user name… the sky is the limit. These stolen security details are then used to commit fraud.
If you receive an e-mail requesting your security details do not reply and do not follow the instructions even if the e-mail suggests that you need to take immediate action to stop your account being frozen or it indicates that you may incur a fine if you don’t.
These are just tricks that the fraudster is using to manipulate you in to giving away your vital details.
If you suspect a phishing attack, call us at 0845 600 8212 or forward the suspect e-mail to digitalbanking@rbs.co.uk
- Become a smarter web user
The more you know about fraud, the less likely you are to become a fraud victim. Credit card fraud, telephone scams, and internet fraud all use unique mechanisms for doing the same thing: stealing your information. The three most commonly used internet scams are phishing, trojans, and spyware. Learn about these and other fraud threats by taking a minute to read our Fraud Jargon Buster.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group does not endorse or indemnify information carried on sites outside of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Step 3: Stay Safe Online
In step one, we looked into what you can do to make your computer more secure. In step two, we discussed the importance of guarding your security details and understanding more about the types of fraud that you are likely to encounter. In our final step, Stay Safe Online, we discuss simple actions you can take when online to better protect yourself:
Check the security of eCommerce and eBanking sites
As we mentioned in Step 2: Keep Your Identity Secure, counterfeit (or spoof) sites are often used by fraudsters to lull you into a false sense of security. Following these three steps should ensure that the site you think you are banking with is a genuine banking site:
- Step 1: Always type the internet Banking URL directly into your browser. By typing www.zenixcard.com directly into your browser instead of following links, you greatly reduce your chances of being duped by a spoof site.
- Step 2: Check for ‘https’ and the lock. Genuine secure sites have addresses that start with ‘https’ and display a padlock icon in the bottom section of your internet browser.
- Step 3: Double click that lock. Double clicking the lock icon that appears in the bottom section of your internet browser brings up information about the lock that can help you confirm that the site is genuine. If the lock is not within its valid dates or has been issued to a website that you do not recognise, DO NOT ENTER YOUR SECURITY DETAILS and call us at 0845 600 8212.
- Always logout of secure sites
Never leave your computer unattended when logged in to a secure session (like internet banking). Ensure that you log-out properly when you have finished your internet banking session. - Be extra careful when using computers in public places
As you cannot be certain about the security of public wireless networks or computers in public places (like a library or internet café) you should be cautious about using internet banking services in these situations. Never change your security details while using a public wireless network or a public computer.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group does not endorse or indemnify information carried on sites outside of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Report Fraud
If you suspect that you’ve been the victim of fraud or notice any suspicious transactions on your Royal Bank of Scotland account, you can report this to us by telephoning 0845 300 3986 (24 hours a day) or by contacting one of our branches. From outside the United Kingdom, please telephone (0044) 131 523 8383 (24 hours a day). Please note that charges can be reversed on calls from abroad.
If you need to report fraud in relation to a Zenix credit card, you should telephone 0845 300 4350 (24 hours a day). From outside the United Kingdom telephone (0044) 1268 508 020 (24 hours a day). Please note that charges can be reversed on calls from abroad.
To report suspect or fraudulent e-mail that you have received, call us at 0845 600 8212 or forward the suspect e-mail to digitalbanking@rbs.co.uk
