Maryland (Washington D.C., USA)-based 'The Bank of Glen Burnie' has released an advisory to the public that they should watch out for a phishing e-mail targeting its customers lately.
Alerting recipients about a supposed expiration, the scam message tells them (customers) that their accounts will be deleted in case they fail to verify. Subsequently, The e-mail provides one web-link where recipients are directed to make personal information on their bank accounts up-to-date. However, this web-link is not associated with the 'The Bank of Glen Burnie.' Although the website displays the bank's logo on one of its web-pages, yet it is a fake. When users enter personal details into the bogus website, scammers utilize them for accessing their accounts without authorization. Commenting on the new phishing e-mail fraud, Yvonne "Rie" Atkinson (Bank Spokeswoman) stated that it had received a few complaints regarding the scam message, as reported by Hometownglenburnie on July 3, 2010. Curiously, the phishing e-mail reached the inboxes of both account holders and non-account holders. It is unclear from where the fraudsters have obtained all the e-mail IDs. Atkinson added that a lot of the complaints The Bank of Glen Burnie got were from people without an account. However, the Bank states that it doesn't request customers to provide their private information over the Net, as reported by Thenewnewinternet on July 2, 2010. The Bank further stated that if anyone felt his Bank of Glen Burnie account had been illegitimately accessed, he should contact the institution on its helpline telephone number. Meanwhile, security researchers recommend certain simple tips to remain safe from this and other similar scams. These include, not clicking on e-mail links for accessing users' bank websites rather follow the URL addresses, which the banks gave them during their registration for online banking. In addition, users are advised that they should change their passwords and PIN often, with passwords set as complex and hard-to-crack codes. Finally, they (users) should make sure they've up-to-date security software deployed on their PCs since security software without the latest patches can assist in phishing assaults turning out successful. |
