August 11, 2010
Visa Phishing Scam
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Visa Phishing Scam
You may receive an email that appears to originate from Visa, and claims that due to multiple attempts from different computers trying to access your acount, you must confirm your account information within 48 hours or the account will be suspended indefinitely.The email however is not from Visa but is instead a phishing scam designed to steal your private information. If you follow the link in the scam email you will be taken to a fake webpage that asks you to provide credit card details, date of birth, social security number, contact details and residential address on a fake online form.
All information entered into the fake form will be harvested by scammers and used for credit card fraud and identity theft.
To make the scam email seem more legitimate, the scammers have formatted it so that it appears to be a genuine Visa message, complete with graphics, Visa website colour scheme and disguised sender address.
Visa will not send Visa card holders unsolicited emails asking them to provide personal and financial details. In fact, Internet users should be very cautious of any email that asks them to follow a link or open an attachment in order to provide private information.
A copy of the wording is included below:
Hello
We have recently determined that different computers connected to your account Verified by Visa, Password and multiple failures were present before the connection. We now need you to confirm your account information Verified by Visa.
If not completed within 48 hours we will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely, as it can be used for fraudulent purposes. Thank you for your understanding in this way.
To confirm your online account:
The procedure is very simple: 1. Click on the link below to open a browser window secure. 2. Confirm that you are the owner of the account and follow the instructions.
Access Your Account
If you have been a victim of this type of scam or any other Cyber crime, you can report it to the IC3 website at: www.IC3.gov. The IC3 complaint database links complaints for potential referral to the appropriate law enforcement agency for case consideration. Complaint information is also used to identity emerging trends and patterns.
Remember - always watch for scams!
Steve