Bank of Hills Attacked by Scam

On May 15, 2008, customers and non-customers of Bank of Hills received mails, which appear to have come from the bank. The mail reads that the bank account of the user has been flagged and it demands private data.

This mail is reported to be a phishing scam. The US Federal Trade Commission defines phishing scam as a scam in which the user is taken to a fraudulent site, which appears as an authentic site of a particular organization or an institute.

The customers receive mails, which illegally claim to have come from the bank. When the recipients click the attachment, software gets downloaded on their systems without their consent. Further, when the customers access the site of their bank the hacker redirects them to a fake Website that asks for their personal information.

The bank officials informed that the attacks were found to be random and the bank had already caution the customers not to respond these mails. Further, hackers generally imitate the look of the nationalized banks in order to acquire the customer's private details for monetary gains.

It is a fake Website aiming at the disclosure of private details so that the operators can leak identity of the users and use their names for financial gains or for committing crimes. The local law enforcement agencies got calls the mail scam.

The spokesman of Bank of the Hills said that no bank would gather data through a mail or a phone call. The spokesman also informed that the users should not mail their private data or punch bank information. Rather, they should call the bank and check. The officials also added that the security of bank has not been hacked. They also said that the FBI is also likely to be engaged in the case.

Recently, these phishing attacks on banks and other financial institutions have multiplied tremendously. Also, the Honolulu based Hawaii National Bank also caution its customers about an online mail scam asking for private details. The bank informs the customers that they will never mail the customers and will ask them of their account numbers, passwords or Social Security Numbers.

Related article: Bank Issues Spam Alerts

» SPAMfighter News - 5/28/2008