Security
The Capricornian takes security and fraud seriously and we have the latest systems in place to ensure your money is safe with us. There are also many ways that you can protect yourself, whether you’re shopping, banking online or withdrawing money in Australia or overseas.
We’ve provided some useful information to help you protect yourself.
Important Notice
Staff at The Capricornian or any of our associated service providers will never call or email you and ask for your PIN or passwords. If you receive an email of this nature, please disregard the email, delete it from your computer and contact us immediately. We will, however ask for your telephone access code or other identity information when you call us directly.
Please contact us promptly, if you have any concerns about your accounts or feel that your security has been breached.
Below are some useful tips to help minimise the chance of fraud happening to you and to help you protect your money.
- Always check your statements for any transactions that look suspicious. If you do not receive your statement, call The Capricornian.
- Keep mail safe and secure. Lock your mail box to prevent theft of statements.
- Protect your PIN and password. Do not write down any PIN’s or passwords and do not share these with other people.
- Report lost or stolen cards, cheques or statements immediately.
- Never provide personal details over the phone. Instead, ask for their name and a contact number and call back.
- Regularly check your credit card and/or bank statements to ensure that suspicious transactions are detected.
- Shred all documents containing personal information, such as credit card applications and statements.
- Log directly on to a website that you are interested in rather than clicking on links provided in an email.
It’s important not to be careless with your personal information. There are several things you can be aware of when it comes to security and keeping your personal information safe when interacting online.
- Set your spam email preference as high as possible.
- Maintain an adequate level of anti-virus software on your computer.
- Delete emails and attachments if they seem suspicious – it may be a virus.
- Under no circumstances leave your computer unattended while you are logged in to Online Banking.
- End your internet session by using the LOGOUT function, rather than just closing the application.
- Do not go to the web site of any financial institution from a link contained within an e-mail.
- Try to avoid using shared computers (e.g. at an internet café) as you may be unable to check whether the latest anti-virus software has been installed.
- Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.
When you shop online, make sure you are smart about the whole purchasing process.
Be wary if:
- The website looks suspicious or unprofessional;
- The website is offering bargains that look too good to be true; or
- If you are not confident about the use of your information or that you will get what you pay for.
Remember, when making a payment online:
- Only pay via a secure web page (one that has a valid digital certificate) – look for the https at the beginning of the address bar and a locked padlock in the browser’s status bar;
- Use a secure payment method such as PayPal, BPAY, or your credit card (avoid money transfers and direct debit, as these can be open to abuse);
- Never send your bank or credit card details via email – only via a secure web page; and
- Always print and keep a copy of the transaction.
There are a number of telephone and email scams that regularly circulate in Australia.
What should you do if you receive a scam call or email?
- Hang up immediately or delete the email. If you are unsure if it was a scam, you should ‘independently’ locate contact details for the organisation the scammer claimed to be representing and directly telephone them to verify if the call originated from them (don’t use any website addresses or phone numbers they have provided to check authenticity).
- Be suspicious of anyone offering large amounts of money in refunds.
- Never provide or confirm personal information, or send money to someone unless you are absolutely certain of who they are.
- Check website URLs before clicking on links within emails to make sure they are for the legitimate website.
Be wary of emails appearing to be from your financial institution, Australian Tax Office, PayPal and others requesting that you enter your details to be eligible for a refund or to reset your account after a hacking attempt. Navigate to your account the way you normally would, not from the link in the email, and contact your branch, the ATO or PayPal to verify its authenticity.
From time to time you might receive an email from The Capricornian with a link to our online banking or website, such as if we mention a new feature – always check it’s directing you to https://www.capricornian.com.au/.
If you think you may have been affected, report it to your local police and branch immediately and phone SCAMwatch direct on 1300 795 995 during normal business hours to report the scam.
Fraudsters have developed techniques that may allow them to intercept the one-time passcodes sent to mobile numbers via SMS to authenticate transactions processed via Online Banking and other channels. This involves transferring or ‘porting’ your mobile phone to another mobile provider without your knowledge. After your mobile number has been ported they have the ability to intercept the SMS code we send you to authenticate a transaction to conduct fraudulent transactions on your account.
Be alert for signs of porting, if you notice that your mobile phone has stopped working unexpectedly, contact your provider immediately to confirm why your service has stopped. If you become aware that your mobile number has been ported, contact us immediately so we can protect your account against fraudulent transactions.
It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to protecting your debit or credit card.
- Make sure you sign all new debit and credit cards immediately when you receive them, and remember to destroy all old cards once you have started using your new cards or when they expire.
- Memorise your PIN and keep it confidential.
- Always keep your Visa card in a secure place.
- Be aware of inappropriate double swiping of your card.
- Beware of people standing over your shoulder while entering your PIN or password.
- Tear up or shred receipts that you do not want to keep.
- Report suspicious behaviour or people lurking near an ATM.
- Report any suspicious looking equipment attached to an ATM.
- Report a lost or stolen card immediately.