• Over the weekend Absa sent out emails to its customers warning them about a rise in phishing emails.
• The warnings explain that there is a rise in emails being sent to its customers posing as the financial institution.
• Absa has reiterated that customers should be wary of any emails mentioning the “freezing of accounts.”

As we have seen both during and post-pandemic, phishing is on the rise, and customers of local financial institution Absa are not immune to such attempts to gain unlawful access to their accounts.

To that end Absa sent out reminders to its customers at the weekend to stay vigilant when it comes to emails potentially posing to be from the bank, advising them not to take any action if their suspicions are aroused.

One tactic in particular highlighted in the aforementioned email to customers is that of accounts being frozen. Here Absa notes that “Phishing emails often pressure you into clicking on a link supplied by using tactics such as threatening to freeze your account.”

“Although these links do not take you directly to the real Absa website, they are usually designed to look exactly like it which could make it difficult to distinguish between the two,” it added.

This is a fairly common ploy we have seen implemented by ne’er-do-wells in recent years, but the fact that it is on the rise again, is always a cause for concern.

Absa concluded its communication to customers by providing contact details should they believe a phishing attack was directed their way.

Here is says you should contact the company’s fraud hotline immediately on 0860 557 557, or email Secmon on SecMon[at]absa[dot]co[dot]za. The latter option will prompt the company to investigate the url of the suspicious link, and if found to be malicious, apply to have it deactivated as a fraudulent domain.