Mail: Security request from the German banking community - you should do that now

If you have received a security request from the Deutsche Bankengemeinschaft by email, you should simply ignore this message. You can find out more about this in this article.

Phishing mail: Security request from the German banking community

The email informs you that you may be affected by serious security gaps in online banking and that you need to have your security status checked. You are offered to do this at your house bank for a fee or online free of charge via link.

• However, there is no such thing as the German banking community.
• Even if the message initially sounds official, ignore the mail and delete it immediately.
• Here brazen attempts are made to access your personal data via this link.
• Authorities, banks or online shops never ask you to send an email with a link to log into your account. At this point, you should always be puzzled and get extensive information first.

Phishing: How to protect yourself from it

Always be vigilant when prompted to dial into your account using a link.

• Never log in using a link that you will receive by email.
• Always dial directly into the supposedly affected account in the browser.
• If there are actually announcements from your bank, they will be displayed there.
• If you are not directly addressed by name in the letter and both spelling and grammar are poor, you can also assume that you have attempted phishing.
• To make it more difficult for antivirus programs to recognize the fake, the text is often stored as an image. Delete such messages immediately.
• Always keep your antivirus and malware programs up to date.

You can read about how you generally recognize spam mails in the next practical tip.