Bank of New York Mellon Falls Prey To Phishing Scams

Several users along with the Scam Examiner were worried about identity theft fraud after receiving emails since March 2008 notifying the loss of data storage tapes by Shareholder Services of Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon.

Unfortunately, the problem was genuine. A fresh wave of genuine letters, which had commenced from end of August 2008, raised the number of affected investors 4 to 12 Million. It was the phishers who had capitalized on the news and were sending e-mails purporting that BNY Mellon required the submission of a comprehensive form.

Another new e-mail fraud guaranteed easy money, but it was using a new trick. It claimed to offer a significant amount of money and purports from a payroll incentive. It led consumers to a bogus site that solicited credit card details, supposedly to credit the bonus.

Furthermore, the new scams exploited both the economic crisis as well as cyber-terrorism. The age-old phishing scam was still around where bank accounts and details needed constant updation owing to the bank's imminent bankruptcy or takeover. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) warned users that e-mails exploiting its name purporting that money shifted into the receiver's account had been stolen and contained malware in its attachment.

All these malicious software, including spyware, adware or computer worms changed the configuration of the operating system by incorporating fresh user accounts, altering registry settings, or by inserting malwares into all operations.

Majority of these actions could be dampened if the user wasn't running his/her regular PC operations under the powerful administrator account, which had the right to change any system setting, introduce or remove programs.

The FBI recently released a cautionary warning that their bureau and existing officer's names were being exploited to impersonate typical Nigerian frauds. A few messages soliciting bank details warned that agents were probing the receivers' latest deposits to check for money being laundered for terrorists.

But the bank clarified that it never communicates its customers via e-mail to verify credit card or monetary dealings. Also, private account details or any other classified information are never solicited over the net. The bank advised its users not to divulge private details to anyone and do not open e-mail messages that ask for their personal details.

Related article: Bank Issues Spam Alerts

» SPAMfighter News - 10/30/2008