Phishing Scam Targets Customers of Two Tennessee Banks

A phishing e-mail circulating on the Internet in Middle Tennessee (USA) is creating confusion among accountholders of two local banks that utilize the F&M Bank acronym. These two banks are F&M Bank in Clarksville (Tennessee) and First Farmers & Merchants Bank in Columbia.

End-users recently reported of e-mails that inform F&M Bank customers that authorities have suspended or restricted their accounts, and subsequently, direct them to a site where they are asked to verify their account details. The site instructs the user to provide personal records to update his account, but the fraudsters take control of the stolen information.

This is something that has been happening with the websites of many banks, according to the bank officials. Phishers have been sending e-mails that direct bank customers to visit sites that resemble the sites of their banks, but they are not the actual ones. Meanwhile, banks in the community are facing numerous questions from both accountholders and non-accountholders regarding the phony e-mails they are receiving.

Houston Parks, Chief Operating Officer of First Farmers & Merchants Bank, said that the bank is apprehensive that the fraudulent e-mails might lead consumers to divulge their personal information, allowing theft of money from their accounts, as reported by TENNESSEAN.

Parks further added that his institution is putting in all efforts to raise awareness of identity theft and dangers of posting information online. According to Parks, his bank advises users to be careful prior to sharing private financial details.

Besides, no legitimate bank ever requests its customers to provide personal information via logging-on to a separate site. Officials at the bank suggest that anyone who believes he has been victimized in an identity scam should report to the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, the FTC and the area law enforcement.

However, the best action, according to the experts, is certainly to be vigilant and to understand that all e-mails are not legitimate. If any message appears doubtful, the recipient must verify it before opening or responding to its attachment, or delete the e-mail.

Related article: Phishing With A Redirector Code

» SPAMfighter News - 1/28/2009