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Criminals Abuse APCIMS Name in Latest Phishing Scam

Criminals have exploited the name of the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers [APCIMS, UK] in an international phishing scam.

According to reports, a series of fake e-mails have been circulated across the world, purporting to be coming from an employee at APCIMS called Roland Cornwall. These phony e-mails offer fake investment option and ask for the personal credential of recipients.

The officials have warned people to be cautious of such phishing scams and informed that phishers have made the typical errors in the text of the e-mail. They said that the standard of English used in the text is not up to the mark; though, the sender has displayed enough knowledge about the industry to strengthen his claim of being an authentic sender. Moreover, to prove the legitimacy, a PDF displaying scanned photo identification card alongwith APCIMS information was sent to the recipients who responded to this fake mail.

The recipients of this e-mail have asked APCIMS for further details. Talking on the security measures adopted, Ian Cornwall, Head of UK regulation, APCIMS, stated that the association had been wary of the e-mail scam for quite sometime, but the early efforts proved unprofessional, as reported by Citywire on April 21, 2009.

He added that the seriousness of the matter was realized only when some recipient forwarded the e-mail to them which was looking quite sophisticated. Then the association felt to warn the people. Also, the e-mail has been sent to the police for further investigations.

Users should secure their personal details and should not disclose them unless they are sure about the legitimacy of the person asking for those details. Security experts also revealed some of the best ways to evade such phishing scams.

They recommended that users should avoid clicking links asking for personal credentials. They should not place their details in pop-up windows. Besides, phishing e-mail may come with viruses, so users should be aware of this.

Finally, users must safeguard their computer systems with superior quality firewalls and filters, and should keep the security software of their PCs up-to-date.

Related article: Criminals Hack With More Evil Tactics

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