Oregon Bank Cautions People of Phishing Scam

The general masses and particularly the customers of Oregon pacific Bank (Florence, US) are being warned of a recently noticed Internet phishing scam.

As per the bank news release, the scam has targeted both Oregon and non-Oregon Bank customers, as per the news published buy nrtoday.com on April 29, 2010.

An e-mail that seems to be from the Bank was sent requesting immediate response from the user. The e-mail also contains a link that sends the recipient to a website having Bank's logo and images. It asks the recipient to give his/her credit and debit card details and account's password or PIN.

The release noted that the e-mail was not sent by the Bank. Recipients are urged not to open it up and immediately delete it.

As per the release, an external security company has looked in to the matter and said that no harm or infringement has been done to the security, data and computer systems of the Bank's customers.

The release also noted that phishing scams like this are increasingly becoming commonplace.

According to the security experts, the customers must note that fake e-mail like this never address the recipients by their names, they rather use the phrases like "Valued Customer".

It becomes evident that the e-mail is not a genuine one if it asks users to reveal their sensitive details like passwords, credit card numbers, etc. It shows that the e-mail is bogus and surely not sent by user's Bank.

Moreover, yet another point to notice for determining the credibility of the e-mail is to note the address in the 'From' field. If the e-mail is suspicious, it won't mach with 'From' address in the e-mail header.

One can also file complaints or inform about the phishing e-mails to his Internet Service Provider or to Federal Trade Commission by visiting their website https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/.

Moreover, the phishing detector that comes along with Web browser can also be used to have an added layer of protection. Even then, if someone has mistakenly clicked on a link leading to a phishing or a spoofed website and has entered his personal information therein, then he must immediately reset the password and get in touch with the related financial institution, like the Bank in this case.

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» SPAMfighter News - 5/11/2010