New Bank Transfer Phishing Scam

There is a new phishing scam making the rounds that you should know about. For those of you unfamiliar with "phishing," this is scheme whereby criminals trick you into revealing very pertinent information about yourself such as name, social security number, bank account and credit card numbers.

Most phishing schemes disguise themselves as being e-mails from your bank (or some other bank) asking you to update your account information. I have also seen them from scammers pretending to be e-Bay and PayPal. I usually get at least one per day and mostly from banks where I don't even have an account. They don't care that I don't have an account as they send out millions of them at a time hoping some will stick.

This new phishing scam takes a new path. It starts with an e-mail from a phony bank, claiming that a large amount of money has been placed into a new account opened in your name. A link to the bogus bank is included, along with an account number and a PIN. The message goes on to say that the recipient can transfer the money by logging into this account, which shows a large balance. Of course, then they want the information about your bank so the transfer can be completed.

Here is one example of the scam:

The text begins, "We have been directed by the Mega Magic Foundation of France to notify you that the sum of One Million Euros has been deposited in our bank, DBS Bank, in your name, awaiting immediate transfer to your personal bank account."

The message concludes with the kicker: "Once logged in to your account, you can transfer via wire directly to your personal bank account by clicking on the 'click here to transfer' link."

The logo displayed in the message is fake, although there is a holding company that goes by the name of DBS Bank.

I received a similar e-mail the other day saying that I had won a British Lottery and that the money was waiting for me to transfer it into my own account.

Of course, the best rule of thumb is never to provide any kind of information about yourself over the web unless you are absolutely sure that you are logged in to the correct place on the web. My banks, as well as e-Bay and PayPal have all sent out e-mail's saying they will never ask you again for any information that you have already supplied to them, such as SS #'s and account numbers.

There is also that famous adage to live by: "Anything that appears to be too good to be true, usually is."