Posted: 9/13/05
Another scam detected, this time via email
Beware of letters like this This is the email that Joanne Buege received from a sender called ěno-reply@bankofthe Dear Customer, Bank of the West is committed to maintaining a safe environment for its community of customers. To protect the security of your account. Our bank employs some of the most advanced security systems in the world and our anti-fraud teams regularly screen the Charter One system for unusual activity. Recently, our Account Review Team identified some unusual activity in your account. In accordance with BOTWís User Agreement access to your account will be limited. This is a fraud prevention measure meant to be ensure that your account is not compromised. In order to secure your account we may require some specific information from you. We encourage you to log in by clicking on the link below and complete the requested form as soon as possible. http://kawazu.daa.jp/confirm/index.php Ignoring our request, for an extended period of time, may result in account limitations or may result in eventual account closure. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure meant to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience. Sincerely, Bank of the West Security Team |
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Joanne Buege, 64, of Caledonia received an e-mail scam on September 6 that she wanted to share with readers of The Argus.
It came from the ěAccount Departmentî at the address of ěno-reply@bankofthewest
.com,î but it was not really from Bank of the West.
After a lot of official-sounding language, the e-mail said, ěIn order to secure your account we may require some specific information from you.î Then it gave a web site to log on to.
Buege did not give out any personal information. She didnít think Bank of the West would e-mail its customers like that. She was also leery of a statement that said, ěIgnoring our request, for an extended period of time, may result in account limitations or may result in eventual account closure.î
That kind of a threat didnít make sense to Buege, who has banked at the Caledonia institution for many years. ěI thought, ëCome on, this is a little crazy,íî Buege said.
She printed out the e-mail and took an early morning walk to the drive-up window at the Bank of the West branch office in Caledonia. The teller gave her an e-mail address to forward it to.
ěWithin a half hour I got a thank you,î Buege said. The person on the phone also gave her an 800 number to call if she had given any information, which Joanne had not done.
ěIím not the greatest on the computer but Iíve learned not to do some things,î Buege said. ěIím wondering if some of those [other] people know enough not to feed into this.î
One resource that helps Buege is the Ace Communications newsletter, which gives updates on scams like this. She was also thankful to Ace for helping her set up virus controls when she bought her last computer.
Happens about twice a week
Mike Werner, the Caledonia branch manager at Bank of the West, said his bank sees scams like this about twice a week. Itís happening nationwide, he said, not only in Caledonia but at the bankís 479 other locations. The e-mails are even targeting non-customers, he said.
The Bank of the West website has a special e-mail address within the companyís fraud department that investigates scams and tries to find the source, Werner said.
The branch office also has a fraud alert system set up so that all bank employees are aware of these types of e-mails as well as counterfeit money and stolen checks, he added.
ěThis fishing is a tough one because itís coming in so many directions,î Werner said.
He reminded people to never give out personal and financial information in e-mails.
Werner said he has heard of people being so embarrassed about giving out information that they donít report it to the bank, and they end up losing a lot of money. This hasnít happened in Caledonia, he added.
ěDonít be ashamed. Theyíre tricking you,î Werner said. ěWe want to stop it and make sure you donít have fraud on your account.î
Watch for ěphishingî
Al Bischke, the network manager at Ace Communications in Houston, said that e-mails like the one Buege received are called ěphishing.î
ěTheyíre doing the same thing that an angler would be doing fishing in a lake or anywhere,î Bischke said. In other words, throwing out bait and hoping for nibbles to steal personal information for personal identity theft, bank accounts, or other items.
If a person follows the link included in the spoof e-mail message, they will be directed to a replica web page that only appears to be part of the companyís site. When the form is submitted, the data is sent to the scammer while redirecting the user to the companyís actual site so they donít suspect anything.
Bischke said phishing is growing at the rate of 20 percent a month nationwide. Scammers often use names of well-known companies, he said.
Ace Communications has an article on ěPhishing--the fastest growing form of Internet fraud scamî at its website, www.acegroup.cc. in the Internet section. It has links to which you can report suspicious e-mails.
Like Mike Werner, Bischke urged people to be cautious in giving out personal information. When in doubt, call the company, he said, and report suspicious e-mails to them and watchdog groups like reportphishing@antiphishing.org.
Caledonia Argus
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Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com