Privacy & Security

If you receive a suspicious email that appears to have been sent by us, call us immediately on 13 37 39 (+61 2 8288 2222 if calling from overseas). Forward all suspicious emails as an attachment to expert@virginmoney.com.au for further investigation and action.

You can verify that you are communicating with a genuine financial institution by examining the website certificate during a secure session. This will verify the identity of the specific website you are accessing as well as validate that the site is secure and genuine. It also ensures that no other website can assume the identity of the original secure site. Please refer to your internet browser's documentation for instructions on how to view a certificate. Always ensure that you are using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information. To make sure you are on a secure web server, check the beginning of the website address in your browser's address bar - it should read https://, rather than just http://.

Report the theft of information to us by call us as quickly as possible on 13 37 39 (+61 2 8288 2222 if calling from overseas).

Web browsers use standard security protocols like Secure Socket Layer (SSL), and Secure Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP) to enable private information to be transmitted safely over the Internet. When you visit a website with the SSL protocol, a secure connection is created between your computer and the website server you are visiting. Once this connection is established, you can transmit any amount of information to the web server safely. In contrast, the S-HTTP is designed to transmit individual messages securely.

For most web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, a secure, encrypted session will be indicated by a closed padlock or an unbroken key icon that appears in the lower left or right hand corner of the browser window. You should also check the address bar of your browser. If the website address starts with "https://" rather than the standard "http://" then the session is secure.

Some phishing attacks use viruses and/or Trojans to install programs called "key loggers" onto your computer. These programs capture and send out any information that you type to the phisher, including account numbers, usernames and passwords. In this case, you should:

• Install and/or update anti-virus and personal firewall software
• Update all virus definitions and perform a full scan
• Confirm every connection your firewall allows.

Digital certificates are issued by extensively audited and controlled certification authorities to authenticate a website or elements of websites. The certificate identifies the originator of the site and verifies that it has not been tampered with. When your web browser is presented with a certificate, it will check to see if a legitimate certification authority issued the certificate. If there is a match, your session will continue. Otherwise, your browser will issue a warning, and your safest action is to cancel your activity.

If a secure session is established and the information is encrypted during transmission, then others will not be able to view your information. However, you should be aware that some web browsers will store information on your computer even after you are finished conducting your online activities; this is called caching. Therefore, you should close your browser once you are finished using the Internet, particularly if you visit secure sites to conduct financial transactions, check account balances or view any other information that you regard as private and confidential.

Email sent over the Internet is generally not secure unless it is encrypted. In reality, most email programs currently do not have this capability. As most email transmissions are not secure, you should never send any personal or financial information, such as your credit card number, over email.