Scam Types dot Com

Email phishing is just getting oh so common today that I am frankly getting bored to death of it.

For goodness sake, I just received the following email from “Barclays Bank” here in the UK for the 7th time today!!

Dear Barclays International Online banking customer,

Barclays International Protection Department requests you to start the client details confirmation procedure. By clicking on the link at the bottom of this letter you will get all necessary instructions (edit: defrauded more like!) how to start and complete the confirmation procedure. The following steps are to be taken by all customers of the Barclays International Online banking.

Barclays International Protection Department apologizes for the inconveniencies caused to you, and is very grateful for your cooperation. (yeah, I bet you are!!)

To start the confirmation procedure, click the following link:

(There then follows a link to somewhere other than the official Barclays Bank website - surprise, surprise!)

I especially like some of the americanisms in their spelling - quite apt for a British bank eh?

Also, it’s rather curious that I receive phishing emails constantly from just about every bank but my own.

In fact, here in the UK, most phishing emails are for American banks.

With a lot of our email addresses having .co.uk on the end, or obviously belonging to British ISPs, you have to wonder just how dumb these would be scammers are.

So, what’s the best advice to prevent yourself from being defrauded by these scammers?

Easy!

Just remember - your bank isn’t going to ask for your confidential information… they already have it!

Never reply to unsolicited email as they are more often than not from people phishing.

Do a “mouseover” on links - this will often show that the link goes somewhere other than where it says it does.