Email Phishing Scam Targets Security National Bank

A local bank in Springfield, Ohio, 'Security National Bank,' has become the latest victim of a phishing email, as detected by the officials on July 21, 2010. Many customers got doubtful mails and alerted the bank about them.

The bank noticed that the e-mails pretended to be sent to both customers and non-customers. It provided a deposit of $50 to a verifying account for participating in a survey named "Membership Satisfaction Survey."

The email further requests the customers to furnish their credit card numbers and 3-digit identification codes, which could be later on used by the scammers to carry out false credit card dealings.

Andy Irick, Security's Senior Vice President Retail Banking, said that Security National Bank never asked for account information on the Net or in a survey, as reported by springfieldnewssun.

Unfortunately, it is impossible for the bank to contact each recipient as there is no means to find everyone who got the email.

As a precautionary measure, the Bank has informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about the issue, and is trying to gather all the required information about the scammers.

Meanwhile, Irick stated that though they had an extremely efficient security team, still it was a difficult task.

He further advised the customers that whenever they received any email or phone call which made them suspicious, they should immediately contact their bank.

In addition, the other things which a customer should keep in mind to avoid falling a victim to such scam emails are: In any case, the customers should not provide their online ID or PIN to anybody, and never write or share them - even with an officer of the bank. Customer, who use the online banking services, are advised to never save their Online banking details on their desktop as it can become vulnerable if by any chance someone else uses it (computer).

Finally, the customers are requested to get adequate knowledge about the red flags whenever they find a phishing email.

Related article: Email Security – A Big Challenge to Companies & Individuals

» SPAMfighter News - 8/3/2010