suspected email scam what to do?

bbrother · 08-03-2004, 05:32 PM

I got this email today:

Dear U.S. Bank account holder,

We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your U.S. Bank Internet Banking account may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party. Protecting the security of your account and of the U.S. Bank network is our primary concern. Therefore, as a preventative measure, we have temporarily limited access to sensitive account features.

To restore your account access, please take the following steps to ensure that your account has not been compromised:

1. Login to your U.S. Bank Internet Banking account. In case you are not enrolled for Internet Banking, you will have to use your Social Security Number as both your Personal ID and Password.

2. Review your recent account history for any unauthorized withdrawals or deposits, and check your account profile to make sure not changes have been made. If any unauthorized activity has taken place on your account, report this to U.S. Bank staff immediately.

To get started, please click the link below:

https://www4.usbank.com/internetBank...splayLoginPage

edit: that is the link that you see but is really takes your to here
http://66.48.93.159/css/login/index.htm

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your assistance in helping us maintain the integrity of the entire U.S. Bank system. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Bank Team

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. For assistance, log in to your U.S. Bank account and choose the "Help" link in the header of any page.

First of all I have never heard of and dont belong to US Bank if its real. So I clicked the link to verify my suspicion. The site looks legit but the adress up top is different than the one in the link, it was like an IP adress with numbers. So after reading this part "In case you are not enrolled for Internet Banking, you will have to use your Social Security Number as both your Personal ID and Password." I decide to test it out with a fake SSN (I entered 123456789) then it asks me to fill out the rest of my information, It wanted name and credit card number. Now this is definitely attempted credit card fraud. I was wondering if anyone knows where is should report this to. Hopefully it can be shut down before someone is dumb enought to actually fall for it.

Gutter · 08-03-2004, 05:42 PM

Daymn! To retrieve your password you need your atm card number, pin, and SSN!

The domain has been registered since 1995 and their website is pretty comprehensive, so I'm not sure. That's a pretty elaborate scam if it is.

I've never heard of US Bank, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Maybe find their toll free number and give them a call to see who answers.

Motoko · 08-03-2004, 05:54 PM

www4?

LowMileLude · 08-03-2004, 06:25 PM

My g/f goes through US bank... so it's a legit bank.

I work for a financial institution and I would suggest printing out that email and going to a local US Bank location and talking to them or sending their "contact us" the alert of possible fraud or mistaken identity. Was this sent attention to your name? To your personal email address?

It looks like a legit email. Probably just mistaken identity. Especially if you don't have a US Bank account... They're mostly East coast, There are a few in Ohio down to Florida. Dunno where else they are at.

hevnsnt · 08-03-2004, 06:32 PM

if you take a look at the source, it probably takes you to another site..

If you would like me to look at it, (and possibly take the site offline) please pm me for my email address

Curiosity · 08-03-2004, 07:39 PM

That's the URL I use to login to my account, so it's legit. Maybe someone entered your email address instead of theirs when setting up the account. Now if only they had given you their account number and PIN...

meddler · 08-03-2004, 07:52 PM

RING THE BANK!!!! If it sounds dodgy then it is probably a scam. Similar things have happened here in oz. Whatever you do, DO NOT do what the email says until you have physically confirmed this with the bank! If they wan't this information, do it in person.

antimatter · 08-03-2004, 07:55 PM

blah

do you bank with them?

rando · 08-03-2004, 08:18 PM

This is simple. Never respond to any unsolicited emails or phone calls until you have verified the identity and/or authenticity of the caller. In this case, just forward the email to USBank and ask them to verify that it is authentic OR call them and ask a live person.

As for the on-line banking business (assuming the link is legit), I wouldn't sign up for that unless you wanted it in the first place. If they bank let someone into your account, that's there problem. Don't let them rope you into an on-line account you didn't want. Perhaps that's the real 'scam' here.

Just tell them you will verify your transactions over the phone (blah) and/or they can send you an early monthly statement for you to check (better).

bbrother · 08-03-2004, 11:22 PM

Ok, hold up a second the link in the email was an html link and took you to a different site, when I copied and pasted the link it just took the adrees that you see not the real link.

http://66.48.93.159/css/login/index.htm

that is where it really takes you and it looks identical to the real login. And no I do not bank with US bank. In the email it says I"n case you are not enrolled for Internet Banking, you will have to use your Social Security Number as both your Personal ID and Password."
And i tried it for a fake SSN and it then asked for name and credit card number. Check it out for yourselves here is the real link. Maybe some of you computer whiz's out there can take down the site or something.

Curiosity · 08-03-2004, 11:31 PM

Oh that's neat. Go to the link and then look at the address bar. Well, mine's not where it should be so it's way off but if you drag explorer around that "http://www4.usbank.com..." floats around with a slight delay. It's supposed to cover the real address. LOL

ODYSSEY · 08-03-2004, 11:31 PM

You can just click "login" (enter no username or password) and it will ask you for credit card information. Plus the padlock appears on the real login page, while the fake one does not have one. I suggest contacting US Bank, it is a scam.

tCoy · 08-03-2004, 11:31 PM

Its a scam. Never trust email. No matter what. If its something serious like that, always give them a call or talk to them in person.

So don't do what the email says, or else all your money will be magically gone the next day.

Call your bank just to confirm, and to give them a heads up.

Chairboy · 08-04-2004, 12:00 AM

Holy crap, there are some gullible people here. Of course it's a scam. It's not 'mistaken identity', it's not worthy of even considering. You should never receive a mail asking for this type of information, and if something is real, log in directly to the web site and do it there, never from an email. ever.

Google 'phishing' to learn about this phenomena.

choyak · 08-04-2004, 12:14 AM

US Bank??????

Here in Los Angeles it is the tallest building

It happened to me once for ebay and I really dug deep and found: http://www.aa419.org/

this is a list of fake banks and a group who screw up their websites by stealing bandwidth from them...real cool

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