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Natwest are Top Target for Scammers
(23-01-08) - Natwest bank has been revealed to be the most imitated by phishers aiming to make UK customers part with their bank account details and other confidential information.
Webuser Magazine report that a study by anti-spam solutions experts ClearMyMail unearthed these findings, claiming 41% of all phishing mails intercepted in December purported to be from Natwest.
Other banks that featured high on the list included Citibank, HSBC and Abbey, with the customer service arms of e-bay and paypal also copied on a regular basis.
The mails themselves are especially convincing according to Dan Field, managing director of ClearMyMail:
‘The phishing emails used are very well constructed and often look exactly like a legitimate message from the bank.’
He continues:
‘People have to remain vigilant as it has almost got to the stage where cybercrooks are building up a portfolio of email databases containing contact information.'
Chris Eagle, Commercial Manager at Creditchoices, echoes these sentiments:
‘If in doubt, disclose nothing. Legitimate banks no longer employ these methods to gain your account details, so any e-mail request from (what looks like) your bank asking for account details is 99.9% certain to be a fake. Look out for numerous confusing symbols embedded within the incoming address, illegitimate looking branding, and mails that appear in your junkmail. These will all be scams.’
