Scam ?

[BertiWooster]

Found the following in my email in box from -
Abbey Bank ( [email protected] )

'' Dear customer,

Your access to Online Services is Locked due to a mis-match of access codes between your login and Tan details. To enable you continue accessing your online account it will only take you few minutes to re-activate your account. Follow the reference below and you will be guided to where you can instantly activate your account.

Important Notice:- You are strictly advised to match your details correctly to avoid service denial. ''

Then asking me to go to a website to put it right .
Obviously a scam , given that although i have an old account with abbey , containing a very small amount of dosh - i have no on line accounts .

What were they after , do you think they were just taking a wild punt ?
Has anyone received a similiar message ?

[Rtaxron]

I have had them for the past 18 months from banks I don't even have a bank account with.

Just delete it and take no notice and whatever you do, don't ever reply with a ******** to you etc.

I did it once and they increased.

[Gromit]

Well done for spotting it is a scam.

As with all scams, it's purpose is to steal money from you.

Not sure this is News though, did you mean to post in Critterbonk?

[vehelpfulguy]

You have posted this in News, though it is not News.

Use Technology, or Computers, or Internet.

[vehelpfulguy]

As others have said, it is a scam.

Those of us who use computers get them all the time.

We get them from banks we do not have accounts with because these people use a scatter gun approach, sending out thousands HOPING to hit a few customers who DO have accouts with that company.

As you have spooted, the link in the e-mail will take you to a "fake" web site that looks like Abbey but is just there to steal your logon details.

In fact you should NEVER click on one of these links in an email, even if it is for paypal, ebay, your bank, or any others site you logon to.

If you want to go to that site select it from your favorites, or type it in, NEVER trust a hyperlink in an email.

Also dont trust an email that says it is from a company that may say you owe them money or your credit card has been billed, and they ask you to look at the attachement. The attachment will almost certainly have a virus in it.

It is like the wild west out there !!!

[BertiWooster]

YES SIR , WONT DO IT AGAIN SIR ( SALUTE ) :-

I deliberately posted it in news , because it wasn't a tech/internet /computer problem

Rather , i just wanted to see how prevelent this particular scam was with respect to Aber's

Anyway , why have a go at me , this section has postings frequently not connected to news , which are not challenged :-

[BertiWooster]

:- ?

:-)

[Quinlad]

Don't be too suspicious though. It's not always bad. Sometimes these unsolicited emails can be great news!

About a month ago, I received an email from a very friendly guy who's an accountant with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. By giving them my account details, they're able to transfer money out of a suspense account that they couldn't otherwise touch and I'll receive 50% of the total sum.

This runs to over a million pounds! I've sent them my details and copies of my passport etc, and I'm expecting the money any day now!!

[VINNY100_2]

Quinlad you better make that 25%...he promised to share it with me to..!(:O)

[BertiWooster]

No Sh1t !!!

He promised me 50% as well

That's 16.6667 % each , now

The shareout %tage of this pot is worringly , decreasing .

[JockSporran]

DO NOT REPLY! Be suspicious of anything that addresses you as 'Dear Customer' or suchlike. If they don't address you by your name, it's most likely a scam.

[squarebear]

I click on these links and fill incorrect details in. At least that way, the scammers have to sort through the bad info before they get to some clown who actually filled it in.

Hopefully, they'll get bored before they reach someone's valid details.

[Romaz]

But Squarebear, if you do that they will know your e-mail address is valid, and you'll just get heaps more!

[squarebear]

No they won't as I put in fake details. They don't ask for your email address. It usually links through to a fake page asking for your online bank username and password.

[sp1814]

squarebear

Actually...you really, really shouldn't even click on the links. The latest generation of scammers are now setting up websites which have embedded software components which just by visiting the site can install spyware on your PC.

The vast majority of spyware is relatively harmless, but there are those which trap keystrokes - very dangerous if you use online banking etc etc.

[squarebear]

I would NEVER use online banking as I don't trust it but I always make sure my virus protection and firewall are up to date and online.

[Quinlad]

It doesn't matter that you put in fake details. If you click on a link, reply to a spam message or even forward it, your email adress is recognised as being valid. That means you'll get more and more spam emails.

[squarebear]

Nonsense. If you clicked on a link say http://www.google.com it has no knowledge of your email address.

None of these links ask you to forward messages on or to reply.

[rov1200]

I'm forever clicking on links in Answerbank. Who's to say they are all genuine?

[Oneeyedvic]

On our old website, as soon as someone came on to the site, I would get a pop up box on my desktop.

I would know your IP address and which browser you were using and also if you were referred from another website (eg google or a company which had links to us).

This was a very basic free of charge program that I installed - and I have a very small amount of knowledge.

To that end, I suspect scammers can gain more information that that.

From your IP address, they may well be able to access your computer.

Lets face it, if they hackers can get into the American military and various banks, I suspect that your anti virus and firewall will not be a massive problem to them.

Why take the risk at all?

[cheries]

Hi squarebear, I think what Romaz and sp mean is that the fact you've replied to an email inviting you to fill details out means that the scammers know there's someone out there reading and responsing to their emails; it's very easy to trace a visitor to a website through their IP address.