Hoax emails and Trojans

Beware of fraudulent emails

Beware of hoax emails designed to look like they've come from St.George, they are fraudulent.

How do I know it’s a hoax email?

Some hoax emails are easy to identify because they’re poorly worded and may contain grammatical and spelling errors. But others can look very real!

Be very cautious of any email that asks you to reply with or enter your personal details, regardless of how real it looks. Do not click on any links or open any attachments within the content of the email.

Ask yourself three simple questions to help spot a hoax email:

• Does it tell you to click on a link or call a number?
• Does it ask for your account or other personal information?
• Does the email have poor grammar and punctuation?

A yes to any of these questions could indicate a hoax email.

What do I do if I receive a hoax email?

If you receive an email that you think could be a hoax, do not click on any links embedded in the email or reply to the email in any way.

If a hoax email claims to be from St.George Bank, let us know by forwarding the email as an attachment to hoax@stgeorge.com.au and then deleting the email from your mailbox. Please do not change the subject line in any way.

If you believe that you may have entered a hoax website, please call the St.George Internet Banking Helpdesk 24 hours, 7 days a week on 1300 555 203.

Trojan Update

As part of St.George Bank’s commitment to protect our customer's Internet Banking security we have a team of security experts who analyse the latest online security threats.

We have recently discovered a Trojan that is currently targeting various Australian banks including St.George. It is important to note that St.George's systems have not been compromised as these Trojans are designed to infect a user’s PC and browser.

Ways to Identify a Trojan

The symptoms you may experience if using Internet Explorer on an infected PC are:

• Significant slowness in logging on (up to 3 mins)
• A "Please Wait" message will replace the login button after being pressed. (see screen shot below)
• This hoax email was distributed on 04 November 2011.

The symptoms you may experience if using Firefox on an infected PC are:

• You will be unable to logon to Internet Banking.
• Your browser will display an error message generated by the Trojan, instructing you that Firefox "has not been certified with this online banking product".
• The message will direct you to use Internet Explorer instead. (see screen shot below)

If you believe your PC may be infected by a Trojan, shutdown your browser immediately and contact the Internet Banking Helpdesk on 1300 555 203.

The following hoax emails and trojans are being circulated:

• A recent example provided below shows how malicious software can infect your computer and trick you into providing your Secure Code SMS to authenticate a fraudulent transaction

• This hoax email was distributed on 07 October 2011.

• This hoax email was distributed on 03 October 2011.

• This hoax email was distributed on 11 January 2011.

• This hoax email was distributed on 20 February 2010.