Fighting spam is a daunting task, ask any anti-scam website owner, and they will tell you, it's hard work keeping up with the scam emails out there. I believe the best defense is using a spam filter program on Outlook and email server exchangers, but out in the free email account world, you need to rely on yourself to tell if that email from your "bank" is a real one or a fake.
So lets break down a recent email from a scam artist found on one of my favorite Anti-scam sites out there.
1. No matter what bank you have a account with, no bank is ever going to email you this sort of request. Never. They will have contacted you by phone or would have made contact with you via any other means other than a email. Remember that, because no matter what bank you use, you would never be asked to verify it in this way for the reasons stated.
2. Drag your mouse over the link supplied in the email, and look at the bottom of your browser, the address where you would be re-directed to doesn't match up to the real website you should be directed to. This is also another important identification mark of the scam artist. Links they supply will typically never actually take you to the real website, unless they mess up in the formulating of the email before sending it to you, which has happened.
3. If this was a real email from your bank, they would have addressed you as Mr or Mrs Soandso, not with a generic "Valued Customer". Most banks use software that title the email to the actual name of the account holder. This is another tell tail sign.
4. No local phone number. That is a great way to identify a scam email, simply because there is no way for them to know who is going to read this email, and where you might live. They are rolling the dice with this form of email, hoping you might actually have a account with this bank, and that you are not smart enough to know it's a scam.
Also, if they had included a local phone number, would you be willing to call Nigeria about your bank account in the US? As they tend to use a redirect prefix of +44 before a number.
5. Grammar. This is a dead give away. 99% of the scam emails I have read over the years lack one important factor, professional language and writing. "To lift up this restriction" and "login into your account" are just two small hints out of the dozens easily seen in the letter. Do you think one of America's largest banks is going to send out emails to their customers with more grammatical errors then a four year olds "What I did last Summer" essay?
6. Why would your bank want your SS# if you already are an account holder? Your bank would have this on file, and have no need to have you tell them for a second time.
7. The number one, most important piece of information I can point out is that if you did get this email, why would it be in your junk folder and marked as spam? Banks like this one pay a good sum of money to make sure their emails are never labeled as spam.
So there you have it, a few inside pieces of information from one of America's biggest anti-scam experts. Take care in how you handle and read your emails, and always exercise caution!
So lets break down a recent email from a scam artist found on one of my favorite Anti-scam sites out there.
Dear Valued Customer: We recently have determined that different computers have logged in your Bank of America Online Banking account, and multiple password failures were present before the logons. We now need you to re-confirm your account information to us. If this is not completed within 24 hours, we will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely, as it may have been used for fraudulent purposes. We thank you for your cooperation in this manner. In order to confirm your Online Bank records, we may require some specific information from you.
To restore your account, please Sign in to Online Banking
thank you for using Bank Of America Online Service.
Your account might be place on restricted status. Restricted accounts continue to receive payments, but they are limited in their ability to send or withdraw funds. To lift up this restriction, you need to login into your account (with your username or SSN and your password), then you have to complete our verification process. You must confirm your credit card details and your billing information as well. All restricted accounts have their billing information unconfirmed, meaning that you may no longer send money from your account until you have reactive your billing information on file. Sign in to Online Banking
Thank You.
Please do not reply to this message. If you have any questions about the information in this e-Bill, please contact your biller. For all other questions, call us at +44-800-887-5749.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender
© 2010 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved
1. No matter what bank you have a account with, no bank is ever going to email you this sort of request. Never. They will have contacted you by phone or would have made contact with you via any other means other than a email. Remember that, because no matter what bank you use, you would never be asked to verify it in this way for the reasons stated.
2. Drag your mouse over the link supplied in the email, and look at the bottom of your browser, the address where you would be re-directed to doesn't match up to the real website you should be directed to. This is also another important identification mark of the scam artist. Links they supply will typically never actually take you to the real website, unless they mess up in the formulating of the email before sending it to you, which has happened.
3. If this was a real email from your bank, they would have addressed you as Mr or Mrs Soandso, not with a generic "Valued Customer". Most banks use software that title the email to the actual name of the account holder. This is another tell tail sign.
4. No local phone number. That is a great way to identify a scam email, simply because there is no way for them to know who is going to read this email, and where you might live. They are rolling the dice with this form of email, hoping you might actually have a account with this bank, and that you are not smart enough to know it's a scam.
Also, if they had included a local phone number, would you be willing to call Nigeria about your bank account in the US? As they tend to use a redirect prefix of +44 before a number.
5. Grammar. This is a dead give away. 99% of the scam emails I have read over the years lack one important factor, professional language and writing. "To lift up this restriction" and "login into your account" are just two small hints out of the dozens easily seen in the letter. Do you think one of America's largest banks is going to send out emails to their customers with more grammatical errors then a four year olds "What I did last Summer" essay?
6. Why would your bank want your SS# if you already are an account holder? Your bank would have this on file, and have no need to have you tell them for a second time.
7. The number one, most important piece of information I can point out is that if you did get this email, why would it be in your junk folder and marked as spam? Banks like this one pay a good sum of money to make sure their emails are never labeled as spam.
So there you have it, a few inside pieces of information from one of America's biggest anti-scam experts. Take care in how you handle and read your emails, and always exercise caution!
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