Ways to keep yourself safe

Before making a banking transaction online, make sure the site you’re accessing is legitimate. 

It’s important that you be careful of who you trust online. Ensure that the website you are visiting is genuine and secure, prior making a payment or share sensitive information. We’ve listed some signs you should look for. 

Anytime you are about to log in to an Internet Banking session or make any kind of transaction online, you should expect to see some security indications. These are the Green Bar, the closed padlock and ‘https://' displayed in the address bar, present on all genuine transactional sites.

Look at the URL of the website in your browser's address bar. If it starts with 'https://', it means that the site is using a SSL Certificate and is hence secured. The SSL Certificate secures the information.

Look for a closed padlock icon in the address bar; it indicates encryption is being used on the web page. The icon is located on the left of the URL on most recent browsers, but may vary in location on older ones.

On our site, look for the Green Address Bar displaying 'The Mauritius Commercial Bank Limited' - this is a clear visual cue that you have reached the legitimate MCB Website, and that your connection is encrypted and safe to submit your personal and financial information.

If you reach a website and get a warning that the site cannot be trusted, it might be an indication of forgery. We recommend not to submit any private information through. If the website is owned by a reputable company, validate this behavior with them. We also encourage you to look out for poor grammar or spelling on sites and check that the design is consistent as this may be an indication of forgery.

Your passwords are the keys to your personal and financial information. Don’t let them fall in malicious hands. 

Malicious people are always lurking to sneak into your devices and get hold of your bank accounts. Your passwords are valuable so make sure to protect them. We’ve compiled a few tips to help you safeguard your password.

• Choose a high-strength password not based on guessable information like birth dates, phone numbers, names, etc. and, prefer a combination of letters, both lowercase and uppercase, numbers and symbols. This will make it harder to guess.
• Don’t use the same passwords for different applications, and especially don’t share same password for IB and social networks applications such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
• Don’t recycle passwords, for example mypassword1, mypassword2, and so on.
• Never disclose your password to anyone.

• Do not keep your passwords on yourself.
• Memorise your passwords.
• Do not write them down or store them anywhere.
• Change your password regularly.
• If you suspect that your password has been compromised, change it and notify MCB immediately.
• Don't allow any website to store your password.
• Never send your passwords by email.

Protecting your data is not only the responsibility of the website you are visiting. You have a role too. 

It’s a fact; we cannot avoid being online today, it’s central to many things we do. It’s therefore crucial that you protect your device adequately before you connect and make any kind of transactions online. Play it safe, take all the necessary measures to protect yourself. Here’s how:

• Equip your computer with strong anti-virus software and continuously update
• Install a firewall and make sure it is regularly updated and maintained

Note: A company's firewall often has sites restrictions. Ensure that it allows MCB website and its secure internet banking service


• Password-protect your computer to prevent unauthorized access to your information
• Disable the 'AutoComplete' function - this will help prevent third parties from seeing your personal information
• Update your Operating System regularly as well as your Anti-Virus software, it's your first line defense
• Use the latest version available of your web browser so you can benefit from the latest security measures
• Turn on your browser's security features - they can help you browse the web safely. Below are some of the security features that are available  
• We recommend that you check the security documentations from your browser provider’s website for more information

Protection from harmful Sites - helps protect you from online phishing attacks, fraud, and spoofed or malicious websites.

Content Security - helps prevent attacks from fraudulent websites that might attempt to steal your personal information by stopping Cross site scripting (XSS) attacks.

'Do not Track' privacy standard support - sites that you visit are asked not to track you.

Domain Highlighting - makes it easy to identify the real web address of websites you are on. This helps you avoid being tricked by deceptive websites that use misleading web addresses. The site you are visiting has its domain highlighted in the address bar.

128-bit encryption support - allows create encrypted connection between users and sites that handle sensitive customer information like financial institutions or e-commerce websites.

• Use e-mail spam filters to protect you from receiving hoax/spam e-mails. These spam filtering services intercept many hoax e-mails preventing them from reaching your e-mail inbox
• Avoid opening, running, installing or using programs/files you have obtained from a person or organisation that you do not know
• Be particularly careful of e-mail attachments. If you receive such mails, delete them. 
• Any file carrying double extensions is most likely to be a virus and should never be opened. Files extension like - .exe - .pif - .vbs are commonly used to propagate viruses.
• Always use secured wireless connections which make use of encryption to handle private/sensitive information online. There are 3 main encryption levels available - WEP, WPA, WPA2, the latter being the highest. With an encrypted connection, you will be prompted to enter a 'key'. Using an unsecured public Wi-Fi would allow unauthorised people to intercept any information while you are online. There is also the risk that someone creates a spoof hotspot which fools you into thinking that it is the legitimate one.

Increasingly you rely on our mobile phones to browse, bank, shop, socialise and more. Make sure no one has access to it. 

The more you rely on your smartphones to run your lives, the more you are exposed to security risks. It’s key that you keep your mobile gear secure and take simple precautions so to protect your confidential data.

• Protect your device with a passcode and/or fingerprint detection - it's your first line of defense. Enable your phone's automatic passcode lock feature, and still remember to lock it when not in use.
• Use Apple’s Find my iPhone or Google’s device manager for Android™, to help you locate your phone and wipe the data should it fall into the wrong hands. 
• Equip your device with an anti-virus software and keep it updated.
• Keep your Operating System and Apps up-to-date - this will make sure you have the latest security patches.
• Install a security software on your phone, if available.
 
• If you change your mobile phone number recorded at MCB or you lose your mobile, contact MCB on +230 202 6060. We recommend that you ensure that we always have your most current contact information so we can contact you if we notice any unusual activity on your accounts. 
• Keep your mobile clear from text messages from the Bank - especially before sharing, discarding or selling your device. 
• Never disclose any personal details via text message (password, account numbers, etc.).
• Use Secured Networks whenever possible - they are password-protected. 
• Download Mobile apps from reputable sources. Avoid installing apps from links received in an email, social media post, sms or a web page that looks dodgy. The best way to download apps is to go to your official phone store, and download it from there. 
• Remember to regularly review and manage permissions for the installed apps as many apps collect and send personal data from your phone, for example your contacts, your location. 
 
• Get the free JuiceByMCB App from the Apple App Store or Android Market, and make sure that The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd. is listed as the app publisher.

Apple is the trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google, Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google Inc.

Chances are social networking has become an integral part of your online activities. You may use it to stay in touch with friends, family and businesses, share experiences and content, and its potential is growing. But, with these remarkable capabilities come several risks. Hackers use the same opportunities in an environment where guard is relatively low to boost their existing acts – distribute malwares, gather your personal information and more.

Be wary of any unusual posts. Be sceptical about what you read online, criminals may post misleading information to make you feel deceptively confident.

Be cautious when providing your personal information on social networking sites, as remember that, the more information is available about you online the easier it is for fraudsters to steal your identify. Personal Information could also serve social engineering attacks to target people - often young ones - to meet them in person, which could lead to life threatening situations. Increasingly, social media is being used by malicious people to track potential victims’ whereabouts.

Choose wisely the friends request you accept while using social networks and be careful about your online activity and information you share. Make use of the tools provided by the social networks to control the privacy of your data, like how much information your friends will see.

Be watchful of who you converse with online. The web makes it easy for predators to disguise their identities and intentions. Sites likes public forums, chat rooms and so, are the scenes to different kind of abuse, be it personal or financial.

Use geo-tagging cautiously, revealing where you are, can end up inviting thieves to your home.

Always be mindful that it is difficult to have an engaging online social life and still preserve a measure of personal privacy.

If you ever are unfortunate to fall prey to any social media fraudulent exploit, please ensure you remove any related connections like permissions, followings, etc.

You may consider to report the incident to Mauritius Cybercrime Online Reporting System (MAUCORS) via the link below: https://maucors.govmu.org/maucors/?page_id=9