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Fraudulent E-mail Claims of Phishing Attack Against FDIC

According to the news reports released by BANK info SECURITY on January 15, 2009, FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) wrote a warning note to banks and other financial institutions saying there are phishing e-mails circulating on the Internet that purport to be from the Federal Reserve Bank.

The security alert from FDIC states that the bogus e-mails claim that FDIC's Fedwire system is hit by a phishing attack and restrictions are imposed. The e-mails also direct recipients to follow links embedded in the messages to get more information.

This is the beginning of the trouble, say security analysts investigating the case. Analyst further revealed that the scam has reportedly affected a large number of consumers and various services linked with the FDIC.

According to the security officials, once the links within the bogus e-mails are clicked, malicious Trojan programs are downloaded on the users' systems. These e-mails use various deceptive addresses and names in their 'sender' line, including 'Federal Reserve Bank', 'System Administration' and 'Bank System Administration'.

Furthermore, the investigating officials said that the fraudulent e-mails use a distorted language suggesting that the author's natural language is not English. Citing an example that indicates to the spoofed nature of the e-mail, the officials point out a sentence in the message, which says "On On January 1, 2009 a large-scaled phishing attack started and has been still lasting".

Meanwhile, FDIC officials have confirmed that no phishing fraud is surrounding the corporation. However, the corporation wishes to inform financial institutions, consumers and businesses that Fedwire is functioning normally.

Nevertheless, to aid those who are affected by the phishing fraud, FDIC lists tips and measures that could be adopted to avoid the scam. Accordingly, FDIC recommends that consumers use antivirus applications and make sure that they are kept up-to-date. Furthermore, the corporation suggests that end-users make sure they have the security patches for their software applications and operating systems in place.

Finally, it suggests consumers to report cyber fraud cases and similar scam activities to Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section of FDIC at alert@fdic.gov.

Related article: Fraudulent Warning to Customers of Halifax

» SPAMfighter News - 1/27/2009

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