BOA Online Scam E-mail Offers $50 to its Customers

According to a news published in The Business Insider on November 17, 2009, many US residents have been receiving an e-mail apparently from the Bank of America (BOA), which is offering generous financial assistance, but in reality the e-mail is fake.

The e-mail states that the BOA would clear $50 worth of the recipient's credit card expenses provided he fills in an online questionnaire (survey). Obviously, the offer sounds unbelievably true.

While the questionnaire seeks the user's bank account particulars along with his other private details, the e-mail's senders i.e. the fraudsters wait to utilize those details for illegal purposes. However, the e-mail reflects some clues of its fraudulent nature like using the wrong spelling "maxim" in place of "maximum" as well as stating that it is from the BOA's security team "Cheef."

It also states that users would be benefited if they immediately answer the questionnaire otherwise $50 would be withdrawn from their BOA debit/credit card within 48 hours.

Even Terry Goddard, Attorney General of Arizona, recentely got a similar message. Goddard states that the scam e-mails follow a style that's predictable like saying that the recipient's account has a problem or they wish to offer the recipient a particular type of benefit, as reported by Abc15 on November 17, 2009.

AG further states that the e-mails sometimes redirect the recipients to a different website, which pretends to be professional. He added that to know the person at the other end, one should respond.

Commenting on the problem, Internet security specialists have stated that using BOA's name in a phishing e-mail is not something new. Moreover, the number of phishing e-mail scams using the names of banks as well as other agencies such as the IRS has risen fast in the recent period.

During the 1st week of November 2009, the Egg Harbor Township Police Department (New Jersey, USA) cautioned people about a newly launched online scam, which sent an e-mail supposedly from the Bank of America, stating that the financial institution was looking for information that could help in fixing a security issue like an unauthorized transaction via a credit card.

Related article: BOA Concerned about Safety of Team Data

» SPAMfighter News - 11/25/2009