New round of phishing scams targeting bank customers
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E-mail scams are becoming increasingly more sophisticated.
A new round of bogus e-mails pretending to be from Bermuda’s banks have popped up in customers’ inboxes trying to trick them into handing over their personal information, including their account passwords.
And, the e-mail scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
One claiming to be from HSBC this past week links to a site that looks remarkably like the real HSBC internet banking log-on page, complete with red HSBC logos and even the same “phishing fraud” warning that appears on the real HSBC site.
The e-mail asks customers to fill in their username, password, even memorable car and other personal information, just like the real HSBC site asks.
The fake e-mail pretending to be from HSBC said, “Dear Customer, in an effort to improve our services, we are performing general systems maintenance. During this time, you are required to login to your account and update your details with us.
“Please note that this is a one-time request and will not take more than five minutes of your time. Ensure to enter all your Login details exactly the way you currently use them for the Bermuda HSBC internet Banking, so we may update you accordingly.
“Please Click Here to proceed. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience. Thank you for banking with HSBC.”
If you do click on the link, it takes you to a fake HSBC log-on page, although if you look carefully, the web address does not say HSBC, rather “biznat.gr”.
An HSBC Bermuda spokesperson told The Royal Gazette: "HSBC Bermuda is aware that some of our customers may receive e-mails asking them to log on to a fraudulent web site and provide personal financial information. Customers should be aware that HSBC will never solicit personal information or security information by e-mail.”
The spokesperson added: “Any customer who responds to a fraudulent e-mail should immediately contact HSBC Bank’s Call Centre at 441-299-5959. A Security Alert section is available on the HSBC.bm website. Should a customer receive a suspicious e-mail, they are instructed to forward it to the bank immediately at phishing@hsbc.bm.
Numerous fake e-mails pretending to be Butterfield have also hit local inboxes.
In the past such e-mails have tried to get recipients to click on a link to read a new security message, directing them to a website purporting to be the Butterfield log-on for internet banking. It then also asked them to type in their account information.
The Bermuda Police has put out numerous advisories regarding these scam e-mails, warning people that banks will never ask you for personal account information such as your password.
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Published Jun 4, 2012 at 9:00 am (Updated Jun 4, 2012 at 8:59 am)