New Phishing Scam Selects First Dakota National Bank for Target

U.S. located First Dakota National Bank released a news item in the media on April 22, 2009 alerting customers of a phishing e-mail that spoofs the Bank's name, as accords the reports from Yankton.net, published on April 22, 2009.

State the reports that the scam e-mail claims that there is a new message for the recipient from the bank and therefore to read it she/he must log into her/his online account with First Dakota and go to the Message Center Section.

Further to login, the e-mail that reads: "First Dakota National Bank Online Banking," asks the recipient to follow a given link.

But when the user clicks the link, she/he is directed to an Internet site that informs the user that the bank has restricted her/his online banking account. The site then asks for personal information like name, zip code, e-mail address and banking details like debit card number.

However, the bank wanting people to know about the scam, said the e-mails are a hoax and that First Dakota has not authorized them. The Bank also said it doesn't ever request customers' private details over e-mail and therefore users must ignore the fraudulent e-mails.

But if any user has already replied to any of the e-mails with personal information, then she/he must get in touch with the Bank instantly, the officials at the Bank alerted.

The Bank, meanwhile, spotlighting the phishing fraud, suggested certain vital tips for customers to follow that could help them escape the scam. Most importantly, customers must not enter their private details as a response to an uninvited e-mail.

Besides, the Bank further said that customers who at first didn't start any communication must, in future, also not respond to messages that pretend to arrive from First Dakota. Also, if any customer receiving e-mail thinks that the sender could be genuine, then she/he must talk to the Bank personally.

In addition, the Bank's Internet banking customers must examine their bank account statements routinely, while users visiting the Bank's website must look for the 'https' prefix to the URL that is a sign that the site is secured.

Related article: New Zealand Releases Code To Reduce Spam

» SPAMfighter News - 4/29/2009