Alert Issued Over Internet Banking Scam

The UK banking officials have issued an alert about a sophisticated Internet banking scam that tried to befool users into divulging their private details. The recent phishing scam involved a mail that attacked many staff members working in Cumbrian Newspapers Ltd in Carlisle.

The mail contains a link that takes to a genuine looking site of HSBC bank. The users were informed that their account of Internet banking was withheld and they have to log in.

After that, the site asks for a user ID and other information, which, if revealed, can offer the hackers access to the user's private account. The fake site was found to be associated with a dating site in Malaysia.

Head of Personal Finance Media Relations for HSBC, Tim Pie, said that undoubtedly, there are chances that somebody has gain controlled of everybody's e-mail address at Cumbrian Newspapers illegally, as reported by news&star on September 6, 2008.

Tim also claimed that one out of ten users share some kind of relationship with HSBC bank in the UK though not everybody access Internet banking. For success, they will attack those users who do not have any idea of phishing scams.

Fortunately, most of these scams do not succeed as many users know the way their banks interact. Also, the bank officials inform that the bank conducted its own monitoring to see what is suspicious in customer's account and transactions.

An anti spam firm, ClearMyMail, said that a normal Web user was attacked with almost 30,000 spam mails in the second half of 2008. Further, the Association of Payment Clearing Services (APACS) reveals that credit card scam alone estimated at £535.2 Million during 2007. APACS continues saying that hackers are still attacking users by phishing and spyware scams.

The research of APACS also revealed that no doubt the number of users either erasing or avoiding phishing mails multiplied from 75% in 2006 to 82% in 2007 but there are still one out of five users who do not execute these common guidelines. Further, still 29% users in the UK do not have any anti virus or spyware software on their system.

Related article: Alert Issued on Unauthentic Software Sites

» SPAMfighter News - 9/17/2008