Bank’s Closure Used for Sending Phishing E-mails

While Franklin Bank closed down after merging with Prosperity Bank, officials are cautioning account holders to be wary of the constant circulation of e-mails containing the logo of Franklin Bank and informing them that the bank had shut down, as reported by JACKSONVILLEPROGRESS on December 24, 2008.

The e-mail message in an address to the customer says that the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending closed down Franklin Bank, SSB, Houston, TX, on November 7, 2008, following which the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) was named Receiver.

Further, no prior notice is provided to the general public at the closure of a bank or financial institution, said the e-mail. Also, due to the transferring of all accounts to Prosperity Bank, Houston, TX, customers need to reconfirm their account information so that no data is lost during the transfer of an account.

Accordingly, the e-mail provides a web link for the recipient to click and enter the latest account details, and concludes by saying that Franklin Bank is committed to safeguarding customers' private information online. Also, the e-mail, which is copyrighted, shows the corporate address of FDIC; however, officials warn people that the e-mail is false.

FDIC states that most importantly, neither FDIC as the receiving institution nor Prosperity Bank as the institution acquiring Franklin Bank would ever e-mail account holders of Franklin Bank requesting for personal, secret information or solicit them for the validation of their deposits.

Meanwhile, although the e-mail has many spelling mistakes, it appears genuine and from a business bank e-mail. In any case, it simply belongs to a host of sophisticated frauds designed to cheat the users.

Furthermore, the Franklin Bank authorities said that while the institution is going over to other owners, there is no need of data transfer and business is as usual.

They also cautioned customers that if they receive e-mails soliciting their private information, they must refrain from responding to them as they are fraudulent. In case they believe that the sender is not legitimate, then they should call the bank.

Related article: Bank Issues Spam Alerts

» SPAMfighter News - 1/2/2009