Alpha Bank Romania: Recommendations for safe online shopping, in the summer

As summer is here, Alpha Bank Romania reminds consumers the importance of protecting themselves against cyber fraud during online shopping.

Alpha Bank Romania permanently takes measures to ensure the security of its customers in the online environment, and continues its campaign of increasing awareness and fighting against cyber fraud attempts, by encouraging consumers to be vigilant, in order to avoid frauds associated to holiday shopping.

“As digital aspects are increasingly a part of our lives, we must be aware of the importance of protecting personal and financial data, even when dealing with holidays. We recommend to our customers to follow cyber security rules when they organize their holidays, when they purchase holiday packages and plane tickets or when they book accommodation online. They need to do this only on verified websites and to activate their biometric verification elements for online card payments. Hackers do not go on holiday, on the contrary, cyber crime intensifies in the summer”, Florin Brănici, Digital Banking and Alternative Channel Manager, Alpha Bank Romania, said.

Recommendations for protecting personal and banking information:

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• Authenticate card transactions on trader websites by using the smartphone app that employs biometric elements (fingerprint or facial recognition).
• Use the SMS notification service from your current account package as an additional measure of controlling and confirming transactions from your account.
• Do not disclose sensitive information! Do not get fooled by offers which are too good to be true, which most times lead you to ghost websites, created for the purpose of stealing bank account access data.
• Communicate with the bank only through official channels: the website of the bank, smartphone apps downloaded from App Stores and Google Pay and by using the dedicated telephone number. Banks do not ask for personal or banking data via social media, messaging or e-mail.
• Be cautious when reading alarmist messages! Banks never send messages asking you to urgently access links in order to avoid blocking accounts/cards.
• Do not send card data (PIN, expiry date, CVV2/CVC code) in order to receive money. You only need the IBAN code in order to collect money.
• Have you received an e-mail in relation to an order you do not know about or an accommodation booking you have not made? Ignore it or contact the company for details.

What do you need to do if you think you are a victim of online fraud?

• Immediately block the card from the online banking app or call the telephone number on the back of the card;
• Immediately change the passwords for the online apps and accounts from a device other than the one that has become vulnerable;
• Scan the vulnerable device with antivirus software in order to identify the presence of malware;
• Report the problem to the bank and/or to the organization which contacted you.

For further information and recommendations to ensure protection against cyber fraud, access Online Security (alphabank.ro).