Headlines:
- False E-mail Claiming to Be From FDIC (FDIC) July 2, 2010
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.
The subject line of the e-mails state, "you need to check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage." The e-mail tells recipients that, "You have received this message because you are a holder of a FDIC-insured bank account. Recently FDIC has officially named the bank you have opened your account with as a failed bank, thus, taking control of its assets." The e-mail then directs recipients to click on a link stating, "You need to visit the official FDIC website and perform the following steps to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage."
This email and associated web site are fraudulent. Recipients should consider the intent of this e-mail as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users' computers and should not click on the link provided.
The FDIC does not issue unsolicited e-mails to consumers. Consumers should NOT follow the link in the fraudulent e-mail.
For more information, visit the FDIC website.
Note: Criminals often use names of organizations we all know to lure users into clicking links that may infect their computer. Users should always ask themselves if an e-mail makes sense. If not, never click links or open attachments in the e-mail. If suspicious, contact the agency directly to verify legitimacy (epcor July 6).
- Security alert (10-056) June 23, 2010
There are alerts to inform us that criminals have launched a major e-mail campaign to deploy the infamous ZeuS Trojan e-mail which will send spam messages disguised as fraud alerts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Twitter account hijack warnings, or salacious Youtube.com videos.
The fraudulent IRS e-mail uses the verbiage "Notice of Underreported Income" as the Subject Line and encourages the recipient to click a hyperlink to review their tax statement.
Check your personal computer to ensure the antivirus, spyware, and malware programs are current to help safeguard your networks and workstations from such an attack. Also, verify that your Internet Security is set to block such attempts.
TIP: A good practice is to NEVER open attachments, click on URLs/hyperlinks, or download information from unexpected or SPAM emails.
- Kris Weidenbenner Appointed to St. Charles City-County Library Foundation Board of Directors
- Kris Weidenbenner Appointed to United Way of Greater St. Louis Tri-County Auxilliary Board of Directors
- New Frontier Bank Now Offering ScoreCard Debit Rewards
- New Frontier Bank Now Offering E-Statements
- Fraudulent Communications Using the FDIC Name
The FDIC is reminding consumers and businesses to be on guard against letters, e-mails and faxes from con artists who misuse the agency’s name and logo to trick recipients into sending money or divulging personal information. Among the recent examples are letters falsely claiming to offer FDIC protection against investment losses in exchange for an up-front payment, and e-mails falsely saying that a consumer’s bank has failed and asking the person to download a form (which could result in identity theft).
“The scammers are doing anything to make their mailings look authentic, even including fake signatures of FDIC officials,” said Matthew Alessandrino, the FDIC’s Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. - New Option for Direct Deposit of Tax Refunds: Buying a Savings Bond
Since 2007, taxpayers wanting to receive their federal income tax refund by direct deposit have had the option to split their refund among up to three different accounts and three different U.S. financial institutions. But starting in early 2010, the Internal Revenue Service will give taxpayers an additional savings option-the ability to use their refunds to purchase a U.S. Savings Bond on their tax return, without having to open an account at the U.S. Treasury Department or take other action. The change will give taxpayers another easy way to save their tax refunds and benefit from the speed and safety of direct deposit.
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