Period Bad People

[LadyArowana]

Just a quick warning that there is an e.mail circulating purporting to be from Lloyds TSB claiming that attempts have been made to access your account and that you need to follow a link and confirm info to prevent the account being deactivated. It is not from the bank and will undoubtedly result in bad things! The bank has been receiving a lot of calls about this.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I get on avaerage 2 or 3 of these phishing attempts a day - usually from banks I have nothing to do with.

Simple - no bank or other reuptable organisation will ever email you and ask you to re-submit your account details. Never click on the emails or reply to them,as this will confirm your addess is live and you'll get ever more spam.

 

[LadyArowana]

I get on avaerage 2 or 3 of these phishing attempts a day - usually from banks I have nothing to do with.

Simple - no bank or other reuptable organisation will ever email you and ask you to re-submit your account details. Never click on the emails or reply to them,as this will confirm your addess is live and you'll get ever more spam.

It's unusual for things to find me as I have an uncommon email address. It was claiming to be from a bank I use, and they had snagged logos too, so it was not immediately obvious as a fake. The person I spoke to at the bank said they had had a lot of calls from people.

 

[MdB]

It was claiming to be from a bank I use, and they had snagged logos too, so it was not immediately obvious as a fake.

I rarely see fishing emails now as gmail does such a good job of removing them. However, from what I remember in the past, the fishing emails look identical to the real emails as this is very easy to do. Simple rule to follow is to never click on a link in an email. Always visit your banks website by typing in the address or by using a bookmark you yourself has set up.

The big scam doing the rounds at the moment is to receive a telephone call claiming that there is a virus on your computer and that you need to visit a particular website and put in a code number. This of course gives the scammer access to your computer allowing them to install a backdoor / keylogger etc from which point it is game over for your computer security and your online bank account.

Oh and if you are a linkedin or lastfm user then change your password now as those sites have recently been hacked and details stolen.

 

[Flyfisher]

Simple - no bank or other reuptable organisation will ever email you and ask you to re-submit your account details.

Absolutely. That's the key thing to remember, even if the spam appears to come from a bank you actually have an account with.

I've had credit cards compromised a few times but the banks concerned have never emailed me about the matter and have always contacted me directly using my home telephone. Even then, they will never ask for any account details (because they already know them) and they will never ask for passwords or PINs (which they don't know). Anyone asking for such information should be regarded as suspicious.

One thing that's a dead giveaway on these phishing emails is the link they ask you to click. It may appear to be a sensible-sounding link but if you move the mouse pointer over the link (but DO NOT click!!) the actual address should be visible in the browser somewhere (in the bottom status bar if using Firefox). This address will usually be unrecognisable and completely unrelated to the bank itself.

A bit like this: HighStreetBank/customer_service_dept

Place the mouse pointer over the link to see the actual web address.

 

[skier-hughes]

Of course the real good phishers will have a really good identifiable address as well, so although hovering over a link is a good test, don't rely on it.

 

[Penners]

Well thank goodness I haven't fallen for a scam like this. It might have jeopardised the $12,000,000 that's due to land in my account any day now. I'm helping out a Nigerian Government Minister who has a surplus from an arms deal that he's negotiated.

 

[MdB]

Of course the real good phishers will have a really good identifiable address as well, so although hovering over a link is a good test, don't rely on it.

Spot the difference:

www.periodproperty.co.uk
www.periodproperty.co.uk

Now mouseover. (The second link is obviously fake but you may not have spotted that the first one is too.)

 

[worms]

Simple - no bank or other reuptable organisation will ever email you and ask you to re-submit your account details.

Absolutely. ...they will never ask for any account details (because they already know them) and they will never ask for passwords or PINs (which they don't know). Anyone asking for such information should be regarded as suspicious.

I keep having arguments with my bank about this. If you are a day late with a credit card payment, they 'phone you up to tell you to make a payment, but first they want to verify that you are the card holder, so they ask for your details, which I of course refuse to give them. They then say, "well phone this number..." and I say "well how do I know that the number is genuine?". At which point they give up. The calls are genuine, but it beats me why they think I would give them the details!

 

[Flyfisher]

The times they've called me they've only asked me to confirm my identity with address and date of birth, both of which are basically public domain information anyway. Actually, I think banks are very lax in using such information as any form of security.

As for checking the validing of telephone numbers before calling back, I suppose you could try using published numbers for the bank (e.g. on your banks statements or credit/debit cards) and letting them connect you to the correct department.

But you raise a good general point and it's these sort of things that can catch people off guard when they believe they're dealing with someone in authority.

 

[Flyfisher]

Of course the real good phishers will have a really good identifiable address as well, so although hovering over a link is a good test, don't rely on it.

Yes, good clarification. I didn't mean to give the impression it was a foolproof test by any means.

 

[Flyfisher]

Well thank goodness I haven't fallen for a scam like this. It might have jeopardised the $12,000,000 that's due to land in my account any day now. I'm helping out a Nigerian Government Minister who has a surplus from an arms deal that he's negotiated.

:lol:

Well, I've just this minute checked my email and read this lucrative invitation, so it looks like I'm $7m up on your deal. :lol:

> Hello i need you to claim a fund for me US$19 000 000
> Please reply for explanation

 

[worms]

The times they've called me they've only asked me to confirm my identity with address and date of birth, both of which are basically public domain information anyway. Actually, I think banks are very lax in using such information as any form of security.

As for checking the validing of telephone numbers before calling back, I suppose you could try using published numbers for the bank (e.g. on your banks statements or credit/debit cards) and letting them connect you to the correct department.

But you raise a good general point and it's these sort of things that can catch people off guard when they believe they're dealing with someone in authority.

Bottom line as far as I am concerned, is that anyone who 'phones me and claims to have a business relationship with me needs to provide me with sufficient information to verify that they are who they say they are. Height of bad manners for them to 'phone me at home, then ask me to prove who I am!

Especially if I owe them money! :wink:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Well thank goodness I haven't fallen for a scam like this. It might have jeopardised the $12,000,000 that's due to land in my account any day now. I'm helping out a Nigerian Government Minister who has a surplus from an arms deal that he's negotiated.

Could you ask him if he knows my Nigerian General, and when my diamonds will arrive? I sent the £5,000 transportation fee by Western Union money gram at leat three weeks ago.

:roll:

 

[LadyArowana]

As for checking the validing of telephone numbers before calling back, I suppose you could try using published numbers for the bank (e.g. on your banks statements or credit/debit cards) and letting them connect you to the correct department.

But you raise a good general point and it's these sort of things that can catch people off guard when they believe they're dealing with someone in authority.

After I read the e.mail I decided to call the bank and used one of their published numbers and they were very helpful ( surprising ) and had me fwd it to their fraud department. The worst institution I have had to deal with is the Bank that was formerly Abbey National Building Soc, now Somebodyelse. They manage to send out legitimate letters that are so badly written and produced that they look fake. I have taken then to task about this several times, but they continue to be beyond useless.

Very disappointed to hear that the diamonds have not been sent yet, I was hoping for a good discount on a few of those

 

[Penners]

Could you ask him if he knows my Nigerian General, and when my diamonds will arrive?

Coincidentally, FW, apparently the General is his cousin (of which he has 86). He says that he hasn't seen this particular cousin for some time now - in fact, not since the chap left his house in his new Lamborghini Aventador J, with a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist.

But I'm sure our diamonds will be in the post. :|

 

[CliffordPope]

Contrary to what they would have you believe, banks do phone and check details. It can happen if you are in the middle of sorting out something complicated to do with unauthorised payments or online banking problems.
Also they sometimes give you a name and a direct line number for the special investigator. Do you trust it, or insist on going back through the Option 1, Option 2 rigmarole again?

The real risk comes if one of the phishers happens to catch you while you are in the middle of a genuine email or series of phone conversations. You are expecting an urgent call-back about a dubious card transaction, and at that moment someone rings you from a scam operator and says it is about an unauthorised attempt on your account. With relief you tell him what he needs. Or do you refuse to talk to anyone who ever phones or emails you?

 

[Sandsni]

The big scam doing the rounds at the moment is to receive a telephone call claiming that there is a virus on your computer and that you need to visit a particular website and put in a code number. This of course gives the scammer access to your computer allowing them to install a backdoor / keylogger etc from which point it is game over for your computer security and your online bank account.

My mum was getting a lot of calls like that until I answered once and, after pressing them for their business name and location, asked them how they could have details on a computer that doesn't exist 8) ! My mum and dad don't actually own a computer so it was pretty easy to see that one was a scam :lol:

Another one doing the rounds is seemingly from Amazon re a cancelled order. Thankfully I'm too skint to order much from Amazon these days :roll: , so I knew immediately it was a scam and reported it to Amazon.

I agree that the best way, if you're unsure, is to go on to the official website of the company in question and log in to your account. Any genuine queries should show up there. Alternatively you can phone them, if they're contactable by phone.

 

[worms]

Or do you refuse to talk to anyone who ever phones or emails you?

Sounds good to me!

 

[Zebra]

I got another new one the other day - I received a text at 6.30 am on Sunday (grrrr!) addressing me by my first name, very casual, saying hi, I want to add your birthday to my calendar, please go to www.somethingorother. No sender's name. When I called the number back it was unavailable. So clearly someone already has my name and mobile phone number (not difficult, as I run a business under my own name and advertise my mobile phone number) possibly also my address, and is now targeting me to try to get my date of birth.
Plus I get loads of annoying texts, often at unsociable hours, promising me they've got a PPI claim all ready for me. I've never bought PPI.
I think the plan of never answering emails or picking up the phone is a good one!