Another phishing expedition
Obviously these cretins catch some people with these scams or they wouldn't keep trying them. I just wish they would stop sending them to me.
Typically when I get e-mail from a bank I know it's fraud and I delete it immediately. I belong to a credit union, therefore no bank has a reason to get in touch with me about my account. This latest one, however, claimed to be from the National Credit Union Administration, an independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions.
The first thing that tipped me off was the request for me to click on a link and verify my account information. That's the oldest trick in the phishers' book so there's no way I'm falling for that. Then I checked the e-mail address. Instead of being a .gov like any government group it was a .com.
Then I looked up the National Credit Union Administration's site and saw a box on the upper right with the words "Internet/E-mail Fraud Alert." When I clicked on the link I read this:
Recently, there have been multiple e-mail fraud attempts, known as "Phishing”, that were initiated via e-mail sent to both the general public and to some credit union members that appeared to be from NCUA. This false e-mail asked for the recipient to click on a link to verify their credit union account registration. If the recipient proceeded to do so, the link directed them to a false website and asked for their credit union account number and PIN, along with other personal information.
NCUA does not ask credit unions members for such personal information. Anyone who receives an e-mail that purports to be from NCUA and asks for account information should consider it to be a fraudulent attempt to obtain their personal account data for an illegal purpose and should not follow the instructions in the e-mail.
If you responded to such an e-mail and provided any confidential account information, please notify your credit union immediately of the scheme. You should also change your account’s PIN, and take any additional action recommended by your credit union to protect your account.
If you feel that you have received a fraudulent phishing e-mail purportedly from NCUA please forward the entire e-mail message to Phishing@ncua.gov
Additionally, you can file formal complaints concerning any suspected fraudulent e-mail with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) at ncua@ic3.gov. The IFCC is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National White Collar Crime Center.
Of course, it just confirmed what I already knew.
I don't think this can be said enough. Never believe any e-mail that claims to be a banking institution and needs your account information. They are just trying to steal your money and your identity. If no one fell for these tricks, these cretins would stop sending out these phisihing attempts.
Marinade Dave:
I usually receive at least one a week, sometimes from lending institutions, of which I have no affiliation, and sometimes from ebay. I recently wrote about the ebay one. Last week, I got one from SunTrust asking me to provide information on my (non-existing) account. I clicked the link and it opened a page that was almost identical to the real thing. I copied the web address, pasted it in a new e-mail and forwarded it to the REAL fraud address. Of course, I got a kind response from the SunTrust person in charge, thanking me.
When I went back to that address, the screen came up blank, so someone was doing their job.
22 May 2006, 2:16 pmmichele:
Yea i've had that scam involving ebay and paypal.
22 May 2006, 3:09 pmDon't you wish you could find them and hit'em
in the head with a baseball bat.
Here by way of blogmad ,stop by for a visit.