FDIC warns about e-mail 'phishing' scam

The FDIC issued an alert about an increasingly common e-mail scam designed to steal personal information and money from millions of unwary consumers.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), perhaps best known as an insurer of bank deposits, issued its warning about so-called "phishing" eight months after criminals began misappropriating its name and reputation to perpetrate e-mail fraud.

Phishing lures innocent people to bogus Web sites that look like those of well-known or reputable government agencies, banks, credit card companies and retailers, and deceives them into divulging personal data.

The term is derived from the act of computer thieves who "fish" for private data.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group, which monitors Internet scams, said up to 5 percent of recipients of the scam e-mails respond, often suffering identity theft or financial loss.

The group identified 1,974 distinct phishing attacks in July, up about 1,700 percent from 116 in December.

Institutions that scammers target include Citibank, U.S. Bank, eBay and PayPal, Capital One, SunTrust and Wells Fargo. Two-thirds of July's attacks targeted Citibank and U.S. Bank, the anti-phishing group said.

In a typical scam, the fake e-mail gives you a reason to verify or resubmit personal or confidential information, such as to confirm a recent transaction, or to help safeguard your account from fraud.

The message then provides a link to what appears to be a real Web site of the issuing entity, but which in fact is operated by the scammer.

You might then be asked to provide Social Security or account numbers, passwords or information commonly needed to access accounts, such as your mother's maiden name. Armed with this information, scammers can rip you off.

Many fake e-mails carry return addresses at sites such as Yahoo.com, or contain typographical or grammatical errors--two-thirds of scammers come from such countries as South Korea, China and Russia, the anti-phishing group said. E-mails might even appear to come from entities you don't do business with.

One recent fake e-mail seeming to come from Citibank urges you to restore full access to your accounts following a tampering by an "unauthorized third party." Another urges you to provide up-to-date information because your "Account Has been frozen!" (The "h" in "Has" is capitalized.)

The FDIC said if anyone suspects an e-mail or Web site is fake, they should tell the real entity, using contact information they know is reliable. It said people may also contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center, at its Web site.

If anyone believes they are a victim of identity theft or see unauthorized account or credit card activity, the FDIC said, they should contact their financial institution and, if necessary, close existing accounts and open new ones. People may also call the three major credit bureaus--Equifax at 1-800-525-6285, Experian at 1-888-397-3742, and TransUnion at 1-800-680-7289--to request a fraud alert be placed on their credit report.

The FDIC alert appears the organization's Web site.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also maintains a Web site on identity theft.

From The "Bytes" Mailbag

Yesterday while I was searching for some information , Xupiter.com commandeered my home page and placed their toolbar beneath what I already had. Sometimes I can get my att.net homepage back but then next time Xupiter grabs it again.
How can I make this unwelcome visitor go away?
Thank you so much for any help you can give me!
Helen

Dear Helen,
I've seen alot about this pest.
Thousands of people have been hijacked by Xupiter.
The Xupiter toolbar changes a browser's home page, redirects searches to pre-selected sites, and automatically opens a back door into a computer to let in ads and games.
Once installed Xupiter changes a browser's homepage, forwards searches to its own site, downloads other games, bombards people with pop-up ads and blocks attempts by users to re-assert control.
The program also aggressively checks to see that all its parts are intact, downloads missing parts and nags users to re-install the toolbar.

You can also remove it using the free program, Spybot Search & Destroy.

Dave,
I have Win. XP and I use a cable modem that uses outlook express for the e-mail. I'm having problems with my outlook express auto - populating my address book. How do you shut of the auto - populate feature?
Thanks for all your help
Betty

It's easy Betty,

There is an option in Outlook Express that automatically adds people you reply to in your address book. All you have to do is turn this option off. Here is how:

1. In Outlook Express, click on "Tools" and then "Options".

2. In the "Options" window, click on the "Send" tab.

3. On the "Send" page, under the "Sending" section, look for the line that says, "Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book"
Click once to remove the check mark from that line.

4. Click "OK" and you will be done.

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