Bank of Valletta said it is aware that a number of customers have received a fraudulent email, purporting to be from Bank of Valletta.

The-mail states that the customer’s account is set to expire and, through a link included in the e-mail message, directs the customer to a counterfeit website where he/she is asked to log in to his/her Internet Banking account.

This email was sent through a technique known as phishing – a form of online fraud and identity theft in which a malicious third party attempts to convince customers to visit a counterfeit bank website, in order to steal identity data and financial information.

Such sites are designed to mimic authentic bank websites so as to lure the visitor into thinking that he/she is actually logged on to the bank’s genuine site.

The bank said it wishes to remind its customers that it will never request 24x7 login credentials, PINs or credit card details through email, telephone or other means of communication.

The bank stated that customers should always be vigilant against such scams that seek to lure them into surrendering such information to a third party. It said that customers should remember never to follow links directly from emails but to type the bank’s url, i.e. www.bov.com, directly on their web browser when they wish to visit the BoV website.

It added that the BoV SecureKey provides its internet banking customers with a secure authentication mechanism. However, customers should always be vigilant and observe standard information security precautions. More details are available on the BoV website at www.bov.com

For more information, customers may also contact BoV’s Customer Service Centre on telephone 2131 2020.