Thievery Afoot

So I woke up this morning and checked my email, and there was one in there regarding my bank account being suspended... *pause*

Im sorry, WHAT????

The email said there had been some invalid login attempts to my online account and they wanted me to click this link to verify some details. I click the link. These details? My login information... #wheretheydothatat?

I looked up at the address bar and it was filled with a bunch of numbers. I KNOW something aint right about that. So I call into customer care and confirm that my account is fine and in no danger of being suspended. The woman I spoke to asked me some questions about the email, pertinent to what was or wasnt specific to me. Nothing on the email was specific to me. It said "Dear Valued Customer" as opposed to my name, and there was no account specifics, no mention of the last four digits of my social, nor the date of last login, all of which, she said, would always be present on an email thats actually from them. Thank God I had the presence of mind to question what I saw, rather than panicking and automatically entering my information, because I would have handed some criminal the keys to the vault with a big red bow on em and a card that said "Please wipe me out. Thanks."

So this is a PSA, folks. Protect your private information by calling to confirm any email you receive that asks you for personal information your institution should already be privy too. You may not have the same bank I do, but Im sure most have similar policies, so here is what the bank sent me, once I forwarded the fraudulent email to their abuse department. Please feel free to forward to your friends and loved ones.

Some things to keep in mind regarding fraudulent emails:

*Unlike phishing emails, we will never ask you to verify personal information in response to an email

*Most fake communications convey a sense of urgency by threatening discontinued service

*Many fraudulent emails contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, and poor punctuation

*Links within the fake email may appear valid, but deliver you to a fraudulent site

*Phishing emails often use generic salutations like “Dear Customer,” or “Dear account holder” instead of your name

*The address from which the email was sent is often not one from the company it claims to be