All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis

Bank buyouts trigger new phishing scams

by Shaun Nichols

More from this author

08 Oct 2008

Be the first to comment

  • Tweet this
Phishing
The recent banking crisis has proved a boon for phishers

Security experts are warning users to be on the lookout for a new round of spam attacks playing off of the recent banking crisis.

The US Computer Emergency Response Team (US-Cert) highlighted new spam messages purporting to be from popular banks.

The warnings come after the recent economic crisis pushed several major banks into the hands of new owners.

The rash of buyouts left some consumers puzzled as to the company now operating their banks, and phishers have capitalised on this confusion.

Phishers commonly use phony 'account verification' attacks to lure victims. The messages imitate a notice from the bank and will often threaten the user with penalties if they do not proceed to a 'verification' page and enter bank details which are then harvested and either sold off wholesale or used for fraud.

As the confusion over the mergers continues, phishing attacks portrayed as being from a new owner of a user's bank could become more effective and more numerous.

US-Cert is advising users to observe best practice for avoiding phishing, such as not opening unsolicited emails and not entering account details into suspicious sites.

Users concerned about their account status can also avoid phishing attacks by manually loading their bank's web site in the browser and entering the online banking service through the site's front page.

Do you agree?

 

Add your comment

We won't publish your address
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions. Your comment will be moderated before publication.

Poll

IT priorities for 2012

What is the most important IT priority for your company this year?

99%

0%

1%

0%

0%

Connect with V3.co.uk

Sign up to our daily or weekly newsletters

Accurev

Top 5 software development challenges

This paper focuses on a series of best practices and techniques for development teams looking to improve their software development processes

Talend

Rubbish in, rubbish enterprise

Why good data management at all levels is essential in the modern business (video, 6mins)

Project Manager -Commodities,Oil,Gas,Agriculture,Power- £90,000

Project Manager, London - Software Solutions (Project...

Project Manager - Hampshire - up to £32K FTC

Project Manager - Hampshire - up to £32K - Fixed Term...

Senior Customer Support Consultant - 2nd/3rd Line Support - SAS

Senior Customer Support Consultant - 2nd/3rd Line Support...

Front Office Application Developer - Investment Banking - Londo

C++/C#/Java developer for a global investment bank within...

To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma.