HSBC is to begin using software to visually demonstrate
that its websites are genuine and help prevent its customers
becoming victims of increasing numbers of phishing
scams.
The bank's retail division in the UK will in May begin using the
Extended Validation SSL from Verisign to give its three million
online customers reassurance that they are using a genuine
HSBC website.
The bank will put the software on websites that require
customers to input their personal details. A green bar appears on
the screen certifying to the user that the website is genuine.
Phishing
attacks replicate websites belonging to banks to steal personal
information from customers, which are then used to take money from
accounts.
Barry Jones, senior manager, group IT security at HSBC, said the
certificates from Verisign would increase customer confidence.
"Deploying [this] will allow us to send an instantly recognisable
signal - the reassuring green bar - to our online banking
customers, confirming that any personal information they supply on
that page will go directly to HSBC and no one else.
He said it is a low cost and simple method of protecting online
users, which could be rolled out across the HSBC group globally if
different businesses and regions decide to emulate the UK.
This follows the
adoption of the technology by HSBC owned online bank First
Direct earlier this year.
The
latest figures from APACS showed more than 10,000 reported
phishing incidents in the first quarter of 2008 which was a 200%
increase from the same period last year.