Reserve Bank of India Falls Victim to Phishing E-mail

According to the news reports from 'The Times of India' published on April 7, 2009, the most recent phishing e-mail being circulated targets www.rbi.org.in, the Reserve Bank of India website.

The scam e-mail, which pledges its recipient prize money of Rs.10 Lakhs within 48 hours, provides a link. If the user clicks on the link, it would lead him to a website that resembles the official website of RBI with the precise logo and web address.

However, as the user proceeds to read further, he is asked to reveal his personal information like password, I-pin number and savings account number.

But RBI said it has nothing to do with the e-mail. The central bank also pointed out that there were small mistakes such as spelling errors that a perceptive person should not miss. However, this may not be possible for ordinary people, as reported by The Times of India on April 7, 2009.

Meanwhile, RBI posted a warning regarding the fraudulent phishing e-mail on the bank's official website.

The most important issue that RBI pointed out is that there is no saving or any other account in any individual's, company's or trust's name with the apex bank. Thus, there is no account with the bank to hold any kind of award money as the new scam e-mail promises. Therefore, if anyone gets such e-mail messages, he must get alert, the bank explained.

Additionally, the Bank outlined a set of important indications with which people could recognize phishing e-mails. Among them, users must search for the padlock symbol inside their browser that would tell a transaction is secured, the Bank said.

Moreover, the Bank said that while there had been Nigerian scam attacks against it, the current kind of attack was absolutely new for it.

Meanwhile, with the nation's central bank (RBI) also turning into a phishing victim, Shantunu Ghosh of Symantec commented that more Internet attacks targeting financial institutions were expected in 2009 as recession was on and people demanded more money. Therefore, people should know the methods of protecting themselves, as reported by IBN Live on April 9, 2009.

» SPAMfighter News - 4/16/2009