‘St.George Website Changes’ Phishing Scam Email
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
The claim
Subject: St.George Website changes We would like to announce that the design of our website is going to change in the nearest future. The final changes will be applied on Monday, 04 of January 2016. Until the end of this week you can review the upcoming changes.
While mostly everything will function the same, the look and feel of our website will change.
We understand that this can be an adjustment so we have prepared some frequently asked questions for you to review.
1. Will this redesign affect any of my saved bookmarks?
Yes, all pages other than www.bbonline.stgeorge.com.au/html/cbank.asp will need to be re-bookmarked as the web address will change.
2. Why did the design of the website change?
We felt it was time to refresh the look and feel of St.George Business Banking Online. You’ll see this new look across all marketing collateral.
3. Does the way I sign into my account change?
No, the way you sign into your account will not change. However, we have enhanced our security system to make it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access your account.
4. I’m having issues accessing my account. What is the issue?
You’ll need to add our site to the Compatibility View List:
Click on tools
Scroll & click on compatibility view settings
Type in our address (removed)
Click add
Please email all questions or concerns to [Removed], Marketing & Communication Specialist: (address removed0
What the fact-checkers found
This email, which purports to be from Australian bank St.George, supposedly notifies customers that the bank’s website is set to be redesigned in coming days. It claims that you can click a link to review the upcoming changes and advises that you will need to ‘re-bookmark’ the site because the web address will change.
However, the email is certainly not from St.George and the claims about site changes are untrue. The email is a phishing scam designed to trick you into divulging your bank account login details to cybercriminals. If you click the link in the scam email, you will be taken to a fraudulent website that contains a login window. The page features the St.George logo and colour scheme. If you supply your User ID and password on the page, you will then be automatically redirected to the genuine St.George website.
The scammers can use the information you supplied on the fake login page to hijack your St.George account and commit fraudulent transactions.
It is often possible to identify a site as fake because it has a different appearance than that of the real bank and the web address is different. In this attack, the criminals have tried to bypass these red flags by advising people via the initial scam email that they can expect such changes. This simple social engineering ruse may cause at least a few recipients to lower their guard and submit their information on the fake site.
Although banks may occasionally change the design of their website, they are very unlikely to change their web address. It is always safest to login to your online accounts by entering the web address into your browser’s address bar or via an official app.
St.George has published information about phishing scams on its website.
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