Identify & Protect yourself from Fraud

How to Identify a Fake email/ website?

Fake emails/ websites are not always easy to identify, however the below given indicators can help you safeguard against such emails or websites, should you ever come across one of these:

Ask you for sensitive information

Fake emails claim that your information has been compromised due to which your account has been de-activated/suspended, and hence ask you to confirm the authenticity of your information/ transactions.

Appear to be from a legitimate source

While some emails are easy to identify as fraudulent, others may appear to be from a legitimate source. However, you should not rely on the name or address in the "From" field alone, as this can be easily duplicated.

Contain spelling mistakes

Very often, such 'phishing' mails may contain several spelling mistakes and even the links to the counterfeit websites may contain a url with spelling mistakes in order to take you to a website which looks like that of your bank but is not. Whenever you use a link to access a website, be sure to check for the url of the website and compare it with the original. It is recommended that you type the url yourself whenever you access www.icicibank.com or you may bookmark/store the same in your 'List of Favorites'

Contain prizes or other offers

Some fake emails promise a prize or gift certificate in exchange for completing a survey or answering a few questions. In order to collect the alleged prize, you may be asked to provide your personal information.

Contain fraudulent job offers

Some fake emails appear to be sent by companies to offer you a job. These are often work-at-home positions which are actually schemes that victimize both the job applicant and other customers. Be sure to confirm that the job offer is from a genuine and reputed company.

Link to counterfeit Web sites

Fake emails may direct you to counterfeit Web sites carefully designed to look real. Hence such websites may look very similar and familiar to you, but are actually used to collect personal information for illegal use.

Look like a genuine Web site

Spoof web sites can be more difficult to detect, because even the address bar and padlock symbol that appear in your browser window can be faked. To make sure you are on our site, type in www.icicibank.com and see if you get to the same place.

Below are some tips for recognizing whether you have possibly been a victim of fraud:

• If you did not receive an expected bill or statement by mail
• If unexpected charges occur on your account
• If there are charges on your account from unrecognized vendors
• If the cheque leaves in your cheque book appear out of sequence

If you get collection calls regarding merchandise or services that you did not buy.

Use Internet Banking to minimize the risk of Fraud

• Utilize paperless options and limit receipt of paper statements by subscribing for bank, credit card and demat account statements by email.
• Monitor your account activity regularly by checking your balances and statements online through ICICIBank.com. This helps you to quickly detect any fraudulent transactions. The earlier a fraud is detected, the smaller will be its financial impact.
• Limit the use of cheques, transfer funds online between your ICICI Bank accounts, or send money to other ICICI Bank and Non-ICICI Bank customers through ICICIBank.com.
• Receive and pay bills online for Free with Bill Pay on ICICIBank.com. The fewer personal documents sent through the mail, the less chance there is for possible fraud.
• Linking and manage all your ICICI Bank relationships online on ICICIBank.com.
• Receive email or sms alerts upon significant transactions in your account.
• Communicate with the bank through the secure mailbox option on ICICIBank.com, 'Write to Account Manager.'

Protect yourself against Offline fraud

• Make photocopies of all the information you carry daily and store them in a secure location like a safe deposit locker.
• Shred financial or personal documents before discarding. Most fraud and identity theft incidences happen as a result of mail theft.
• Whenever you or your family are away from home, get the incoming post collected by a trusted acquaintance and if you are going to be away for a longer period, arrange to get your mails diverted to an alternate address. Do not leave your incoming post lying around in your absence.

Protect yourself against Online fraud

With a few simple steps, you can help protect your account and personal information from fake emails and web sites:

• Delete suspicious emails without opening them. If you do open a suspicious email, do not Do not open or respond to online solicitations for personal information.
• Do not open any attachments or click on any links it may contain.
• Never provide sensitive account or personal information in response to an email. If you have entered personal information, report it to us immediately by calling our 24-Hour Phone Banking numbers. Or write to us using the "Email Us" option.

Read our tips to Secure your PC from online threats.

Maintain the secrecy of your PIN numbers and Passwords, see our Password-related Tips