Shannel writes in:
Hi Bill. I've enjoyed your Moneysafe bit since you began doing it. While I'm quick with the "Mark As Spam" button, I know there are plenty of other people out there who actually fall for some of these scams. Here is a scary one I got just yesterday:
Get 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund ( $1800 )
Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as part of President Bush program to jumpstart the economy.
Our records indicate that you are qualified to receive the
2008 Economic Stimulus Refund.
The fastest and easiest way to receive your refund is by direct deposit to your checking/savings account.
Please click on the link and fill out the form and submit before June 26th, 2008 to ensure that your refund will be processed as soon as possible.
Submitting your form on June 26th, 2008 or later means that your refund will be delayed due to the volume of requests we anticipate for the Economic Stimulus Refund.
To access Economic Stimulus Refund, please click here.
Thanks Shannel.
As I reported a few months back, a slew of scammers are trying to capitalize on the IRS stimulus checks, trying to get people to click on their fradulent site, in hopes that they can steal your personal information and/or drain your bank account. If you get an email like this,
just delete it.
Here's another one sent in by a viewer:
* Dear Member:
Thank you for choosing AT&T TM. Unfortunately there was a problem processing your billing information for the month of June, 2008. Soon we are upgrading some of our servers in our data base for new service for our customers. Our number of clients has been increasing rapidly last month and because of that it is necessary for addidtional database servers, where some of our clients are going to get moved. We require all moved accounts to verify their information on file with us. To verify your billing at this time, please visit our secure server webform by clicking the hyperlink below:
https://www.att.net/newdatabase/myaccount
If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to temporary suspend your account.
Thank You for using AT&TTM
We appreciate your business and hope to keep you as a customer for life.
We apologize for any inconvenience. AT&TTM Online is so easy; no wonder it's number one !
Sincerely,
The AT&T Billing ServicesTM
I actually received one of these at the office here, and had to laugh a little bit. The one I received was supposedly from Bank of America, but I don't have an account there. You may ask, "How did they know that I had an account with AT&T?" Well, they don't. That's why t5hey call it "phishing". They're casting out with this bait, trying to appeal to as many potential victims as possible, and then once they have a few hooked, they'll shut the site down, usually within just a matter of days. If you get emails like this, don't click on the attachment. Once you do, your computer could get infected with "keystroke-logger" techonology that will actually record every keystroke you make. Once they've infected your computer with that kind of malware, they are just waiting for you to enter some personal information, and then they've got you.
Here are some anti-phishing resources, with some good information on who you can forward your phishing emails to:
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.shtm
ANTIPHISHING.ORG
I'm Bill Wixey, keeping your money safe.