HSBC First Direct Subscribers Alerted to Fake E-mail Campaign

Clients of First Direct, an HSBC Bank unit, which facilitates Internet-based and telephone retail banking, have been urged for being vigilant of dubious e-mails, presently circulating online, published softpedia.com dated May 10, 2013.

It maybe noted that HSBC Bank, whose main branch is in London (UK), works like one multinational financial services and banking provider of British origin.

The phishing electronic mails captioned "Security Notice-Access Blocked," tells the recipient that owing to terms violation, the bank had to block his account access. The message gives kjm49627 as reference. It also asks to click certain web-link to enable account retrieval.

But Internet-users who become convinced of the fraudulent e-mail followed with pressing the web-link get led onto one phishing site that directs them for entering their name; birth-date; account number; phone-banking password; username-and-password; credit card details such as number, 3-digit security number, expiration date; answers to security queries; sort code as well as other information.

Thus, when potential victims submit the data asked, they're diverted onto the real site of First Direct; consequently, they fail to perceive that somebody compromised their accounts which were shortly going to be captured too.

Meanwhile, every detail provided on the fake web-pages land up with the Internet-scammers perpetrating the phishing assault. These fraudsters then easily acquire admission into victimized users' original HSBC accounts, prevent their access for the actual A/C-owners, while transact through them for conducting fake transfers and purchases, specialists observe.

The specialists also state that the above kind of phishing attack happens quite often. Therefore users should remain aware about any e-mail posing as sent from their banking institution which asserts they require following a web-link else viewing a file attached so they can provide their financial and other personal information. It's advisable that to access one's bank website, users should type in the URL inside their Web-browsers instead of following the Web-link provided within the e-mail.

Here, HSBC emphasizes that 'authentic financial banking utilities' like First Direct will never dispatch e-mails requesting for clients' personal details, including security particulars.

Besides, HSBC urges Internet-users to send all HSBC-spoofed e-mails at phishing@hsbc.com for the bank to examine the messages.

» SPAMfighter News - 5/16/2013