Internet bank scam threatens thousands of AIB accounts

THE accounts of thousands of AIB customers were yesterday targeted by fraudsters in a sophisticated internet scam.

Executives at the bank alerted the garda fraud squad when they became aware of the attempt to access their customers’ accounts.

The scam, known as ‘phishing’, involved a bogus email, purporting to be from AIB, with a link to the bank’s website and carrying the AIB logo.

It asked customers to log on to the website to upgrade their personal details, such as credit card and PIN numbers.

The bank last night confirmed that a small number of customers fell for the ruse and handed over their details.

However, AIB headquarters in Dublin only became aware of the scam when a concerned customer alerted them about the email.

The bank moved immediately to block access to customers’ accounts before any money could be stolen.

An AIB spokesman yesterday said the bank took hundreds of calls from worried customers.

“We reported the matter immediately to the gardaí and our own technical staff are working on the problem,” said the spokesman.

He said customers should be aware the bank would never ask them to give sensitive details by email.

This is not the first time the bank has been subjected to a phishing attack. In July, thousands of customers were sent emails asking them to log on to a fake AIB website and key in ATM and account codes.

It is not known who is behind the latest attack on AIB. Many previous attempts to steal from customer accounts have come from criminal gangs in Russia and eastern Europe.

The Irish Payment Service Organisation (IPSO) last night advised consumers to be aware of the threat of phishing.

IPSO spokeswoman Úna Dillon said: “Never give out personal information over the internet unless you are 100% confident that you are visiting the authentic website. The best way to ensure this is to avoid following links in emails - always type the URL of the website you wish to visit into the navigation bar yourself. If in doubt, contact your bank immediately.”

IPSO have issued guidelines for internet banking customers to detect fraudsters. These include:

Not entering personal details on a suspected website.

Reporting any email or request for information to your bank.

Installing anti-virus software on your computer.

Phishing is a growing problem internationally, with financial institutions forced to spend heavily to prevent the online robbery of their clients’ money.

In the past couple of months Visa international, Citibank, US Bank, Wells Fargo and eBay have all been hit by internet fraudsters targeting their clients’ accounts.

The scale of the problem is such that an international Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has been established.

It has 636 members representing 407 companies, including eight of the top 10 American banks.

It is backed by law enforcement authorities from Australia, Canada, the US and Britain.

The APWG reported 1,422 phishing attacks internationally in June.