I have been online since ’97, I have worked in the internet industry for ten years now and even I can be prone to clicking on something I shouldn’t so I really worry about people who have less knowledge and/or experience online.
Today I received an email from my bank, I reproduce it below. I can be very sceptical anyway but this nearly had me clicking on the link. Let me show you what it said, I have deleted the banks name from the mail:
Dear Valued XXXXXX Customer,
As a bank we are used to thinking about security.
The internet brings new risks that must also be recognized
and guarded against. At XXXXX,
we use industry standard security technology and practices,
focusing on three key areas – privacy, technology and identification
so we can safeguard your accounts from any unauthorized
access. However, you too should play your part in protecting these accounts.
As a part of our ongoing commitment to provide the “Best Possible”
service and Protection to all our Members this year,
we are now requiring each member to validate their accounts
using our new secure and safe SSL servers.
To validate your online banking account click on Log In To Online Banking .
This e-mail has being sent to all XXXXXX customers, and it is compulsory to follow
as failure to comply will lead to account suspension.
Thank you.
Online Banking Security Team
Online Services Security Department
Issued for UK use only | © XXXXXXX Bank plc 2002 – 200
Hmm, I was nearly hooked because a) its my bank b) they have written to the correct email address, but if you hover the mouse over the link it doesnt go direct to my bank but to:
PLEASE DONT CLICK THE LINK BELOW
http://www.askmikey.net/modules/mod_syndicate/www.XXXXX.com/Login.php
PLEASE DONT CLICK THE ABOVE
Now I may being paranoid here but there is no way I am clicking this link, it might even be legit but why would the bank use a ‘askmikey’ address. If they close my account so be it, I would rather that and they can re-open it than click on the above link and lose all my cash.
Guys, please be careful out there if you ever get a message like this please telephone your bank rather than email or trust the email.
Delicious 
Digg This Post 
Facebook 
Stumble This Post
Related posts:
{ 6 comments }
I was caught out by an E card last year. I am not so computer literate as you and was annoyed that I had been caught out and had to pay to get it fixed. It has made me extremly cautious about what I open now.
Yeah they are getting cleverer and cleverer every year!
Yeah its a fake natwest site …
shame they couldn’t at least mark the url with a java applet.
For those of you who has a PC and Windows and use Firefox as web browser there is an add-on called Liberty Guard. This add-on puts an indicator on the status bar above the systray. The indicator flashes if you are on the real authentic site. You can customize your add-on to check for five different sites. The add-on also contains a blacklist of known phishing sites, and is constantly updated. It is developed for the e-currency payment processor Liberty Reserve but you can use it for any site. Here is the link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=liberty+guard&cat=all
The only solution that is security sound and comprehensive is the
IDentiWall eBanking solution that provides end-to-end secured e-Banking even if your computer (the customer) is infected with viruses and malwares.
Go to http://www.identiwall.com to learn all about it.
I switched to firefox when I bought the Mac and love it to bits, even use it at work now. Once you get used to it the add ons are great!
Mark, thanks for confirming that, maybe I should write to them, though I would hope the are already aware of it.
Comments on this entry are closed.