This article links below to examples of various phishing scams, Nigerian 419 letters, messages with a potential payload of a virus and fake lottery winning letters. If you have something similar to any of these, you may be an intended victim.
The Internet has made it cheap and easy for criminals around the globe to attempt to trick individuals into revealing confidential information (such as credit card numbers, bank account data, social security numbers and more), as well as deceive computer users into clicking on links or attachments that will compromise the security of their computers and the information stored on them.
Some of the most common ploys are "phishing" emails, lottery winner notifications, urgent pleas to help with the transfer of funds of a deceased individual, invoices and gift card notifications for items never ordered, and bogus messages with dangerous attachments.
Educate yourself about these scams so that you don't fall victim to them. In addition to the samples we've collected below, banking regulators have also assembled some excellent resource information on scams and identity theft.
Phishing Scam - Phishing emails appear to come from a financial institution or other company with whom the recipient may do business. The message attempts to trick the recipient into clicking a link. The link may take the user to a site with malicious code, such as a keystroke logger, that will capture confidential information and then email it surreptitiously to the fraudster. In other instances, the link takes the user to a Web site that is an evil clone of the financial institution's or company's Web site, where the user is deceived into believing they are entering information (such as an online banking user name and password, or ATM PIN, for example) in a safe environment when, in fact, it is a site controlled by the criminal. It is not uncommon for the email to threaten dire consequences if you do not immediately click the link to respond. Don't fall for it!
Nigerian 419 Fraud - In this type of scam, the crook will write an email that describes some tragic situation. Invariably, it states that someone is dead (sometimes claiming they are one of your relatives; in other cases they say you are chosen because you were recommended by a trusted friend) and a huge sum of money (millions!) is trapped in a foreign country and they need you to help them get it -- for which they say they will handsomely reward you. They appeal to you like you're a superhero who can fly to the rescue, but what they're really after is your bank account information so they can make a withdrawal -- not a deposit. In other instances, they'll string the recipient along, promising millions, but requiring the recipient to come up with cash along the way for various fees and charges. There's no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.
Potential Virus - Dangerous Attachment. Crooks use a technique called "social engineering" to trick you into opening emails and attachments and/or clicking on links in emails. The technique involves making the email appear to come from someone you know, or a trusted source. It may even appear to be returned email supposedly sent from you originally. The goal of the criminal is to get you to let down your guard, believing the email is legitimate, so that you click to open the attachment or go to the link. Once you do so, your computer can be infected with a virus or other malicious code. Depending on the "payload" of the virus or trojan, you could lose data, lose functionality, or have the security of your information compromised. In some cases, a person whose computer was infected may have had the "To" and "From" addresses somewhere in their computer. The virus program randomly selects addresses and fills in the blank so it appears to be someone you may know.
"You've won!" Lottery winner notification emails are scams. You can't win something you didn't enter. What's the deal? Tantalizing you with the prospect of a windfall, these lottery winner emails ultimately seek payment from you to get your "winnings." You may make the payment, but believe us -- you'll never receive winnings from these con artists.
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