NatWest Bank Clients Cautioned about Dubious E-mails

Dynamoo Blog's Conrad Longmore security blogger has urged Bishopsgate, UK-based National Westminster Bank's accountholders to stay vigilant of dubious e-mails which pose as messages from the bank, reported softpedia.com dated May 16, 2014.

A sample electronic mail, suggests that the user can know the latest about his account by reading a periodically-prepared Online Merchant Financial Activity Statement by the NatWest Bank. This statement can be accessed via a secure website available from a given link where he requires clicking for choosing the option he would prefer for seeing the bank's account statement, the message adds.

But on clicking, although the web-links seem as taking onto the statement; in reality, they divert onto a site which delivers malware.

The current spam campaign is interesting in that the perpetrators, by utilizing the Bit.ly URL-condensing facility, have made the web-links shorter. Consequently, it can be learnt as to what number of users actually followed the web-links, via the addition of "+" at the end of each web-link.

Longmore outlines that hitherto the web-links have had 246 clicks; however, plenty of these may be by security analysts who've been examining the attack.

Unfortunately, it isn't the lone case for NatWest clients to receive a dubious e-mail, since one more phishing e-mail scam had come to the notice of security experts during recent days.

A sample of that fake e-mail told recipient that his most recent card statement was obtainable via clicking a web-link for logging into 'Online-Card-Service' followed with choosing 'Statements.' It then reminded the user to examine his financial dealings routinely and urged to remember that NatWest Bank wouldn't request any accountholder to provide his Password and PIN over e-mail. To solve any query, users should call the bank, but mustn't reply to the current electronic mail. Telephone numbers to access any of the bank's services was given at the natwest.com website's contact us page, the message stated.

And while it's safest not to answer an unanticipated/dubious e-mail, still incase someone has got a fake e-mail, he should forward it at phishing@natwest.com without answering it, while incase one has answered the message he should dial NatWest's hotline phone-number.

» SPAMfighter News - 5/26/2014