FDIC email scam stalking the net
A scam email claiming to be from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( FDIC ) is reported to have turned up in inboxes across the US. The emails started coming in since the beginning of this month. In a press release on its website, FDIC has warned net users to beware of the scam email. It is a well-disguised attempt to get at their personal financial details, it said.
The email greeted users with a ‘Funds wired into your account are stolen’ message in its subject line. FDIC, it said inside, had noticed some funds in the recipient’s bank account which it believed were tainted. The funds belonged to victims of identity theft scams. To save themselves from getting into trouble, recipients are asked to scrutinize their bank account statements (provided as an attachment in the mail) and contact their bank immediately. It is the attachment that serves out the scam.
The scam email is dangerous because it tricks users into clicking on the attachment. A click on it would download malware onto their computers. While the report did not identify the malware, it warned that such programs can put online users into a lot of trouble. When downloaded, these programs would lurk around when the user is online and would transmit all passwords or other access codes submitted by the user to waiting fraudsters.
Those who received the email and unknowingly clicked on the attachment are advised to take steps to purge their computers using good anti-virus software. Most of the popular anti-virus solutions were found to be detecting and removing the malware from infected systems.
Source: FDIC.gov
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