Discover the golden rule not to fall for a phishing trap
- Never enter your access codes for your internet banking if you come from an electronic message or e-mail.
- Stop immediately and close your browser window, because this is phishing.
- ING never sends a link to Home'Bank in an SMS or an email.
You’ve heard a lot about phishing but never actually met it - or maybe you’ve already received a phishing message and would like to know how best to protect yourself. Below we've collected some of the most common messages, both emails and SMSs. Take a close look to see how they’re written and how to recognize them.
Phishing emails
A phishing email is often easy to identify.
Here are some pointers to help you:
Does the email contain a link to Home'Bank? If so, it is a fake, as ING never sends a link to Home'Bank in an SMS or an email.
The message is not written in your language (ING will only write to you in your own language).
It’s addressed to you in general terms (e.g. “Dear customer” or “Dear relation”) whereas ING will use your surname and/or first name when it writes to you.
The sender’s email address is nothing like that of ING. Our email addresses always end “ing.be” or “ing.com”.
The link in the email does not direct you to our website (Video: How to read a URL).
Below are some phishing messages our customers have sent us:
Phishing SMS
SMSs are often used by fraudsters to make you panic and prompt you to react quickly. The message often contains an urgent alert (e.g. “we have isolated your account”; “an unknown computer has connected to your account”; “your payments are blocked”).
Don’t be distracted by the urgency. First check the following:
Does the SMS contain a clickable link? If so, it isn’t ING, as we no longer send SMSs with active links
Is the message in your language? If not, it doesn’t come from ING.
Be on the alert: the message may have nothing to do with your bank, but can still be fraudulent:
Other messages
Fraudsters can use any messaging tool to trap you. Whether it’s Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or Snapchat etc., the same rules apply:
Always check the message sender (known email address or telephone number).
Never make a payment via a messaging application.
Never share the access codes for your Home’Bank.
Urgent or threatening messages are very often false, inciting you to act quickly instead of checking whether the communication is genuine.
If you receive a message of this type, please send it to us at the following address: phishing@ing.be.