Email banking scams

Emails falsely claiming to be from the likes of Citibank, NatWest, and other reputable banking entities attempt to entice recipients into divulging their ATM/Debit card and PIN numbers. Those who click on the link will be directed to an authentic banking site, but a small window asking for pertinent account info will also be displayed. This small window is not from the banking site. Instead, it captures the sensitive data and sends it to the miscreants behind the malicious email.

Following is a sample of one such email:

Dear Citibank Member,

This email was sent by the Citibank server to verify your e-mail address. You must complete this process by clicking on the link below and entering in the small window your Citibank ATM/Debit Card number and PIN that you use on ATM. This is done for your protection -I- because some of our members no longer have access to their email addresses and we must verify it.

To verify your e-mail address and access your bank account, click on the link below. If nothing happens when you click on the link (or if you use AOL)p, copy and paste the link into the address bar of your web browser.

Unsuspecting users who click the link and enter the information requested into the small popup window will risk having their bank accounts compromised.

This banking scam is widespread throughout the world, affecting a large number of banks and their customers.

To protect yourself from such scams, remember the following:

• A legitimate financial institution will never ask for your account information via an email
• Do not follow links provided in an email requesting any form of financial information
• Call your local bank and ask for verification before responding to any form of electronic correspondence alleging to be from your bank

Citibank provides additional resources for customers who think they may have been victims of this scam:

• UK Citibank fraudulent email information
• All other (including U.S.) Citibank fraud info
• Citibank website for reporting phishing email

See also:

• Citibank phishing scams
• Ferreting out a fake
• eBay & PayPal phishing scams
• Email credit card scams
• FDIC phishing scams
• Email scams and fraud