Catching Identity Theft Before it Catches You

I just wanted to urge everyone to be extremely careful in responding to any emails you get that are apparently from your chosen financial institution.

Tonight I got an email that I first thought was from my bank. This email was so good that I actually clicked one of the links in the file, and almost started filling out the form on the resulting page before I noticed that I had not been taken to my bank's site. The email contained a threat that my account would be suspended for my own good if I did not update my information (It's almost midnight and really close to any reasonable bedtime, so please forgive me my failure of alertness). When I went back to examine the email the links all led to the same URL, which was a page on a numeric IP rather than a named domain, and demanded that the form be filled out during a short time period during which my bank would be closed and could not act to limit the fraud that would have resulted. One thing that is common among the computer savy is that we tend to get a bit prideful regarding our own abilities. Please, take warning. These folks are very good at what they do, so much so that as careful as I am (some folks online even call me paranoid, remember), they almost got me.

Please, be very, very careful.

@Billsey

A good warning as well.


Fortunately simplemail shows the email without the html and the links dont work either



Lot to be said for amigas !!

@Outcast

I'm just glad that my eyes opened up in time.

@Billsey

I don't know about your banks in the States, but ours out here in Oz all say *over and over again* "We will never send you emails requesting you to enter your details on a website. Any such emails are undoubtedly fraud."

Sadly, many gullible people are fooled every day. Glad to see you "woke up" in time!