Today’s Scam of the day again comes directly from my own email. It appears to be an email from Chase Bank informing me that there are problems with my online banking account that require me to click on a link to correct the urgent problem. This is a typical phishing email scam by which you are lured into clicking on a link that will either download keystroke logging malware on to your computer and enable the scammer to steal your data and use it to make you a victim of identity theft or entice you into providing the personal information yourself on a phony intake form. Again, the information will be used to make you a victim of identity theft.
Reproduced below is a copy of the email that I received. DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK. What the copy does not show is the email address from which the message (not “massage,” spelling errors are a good indication of a scam email; apparently scammers are either bad spellers or bad proof readers) was sent. It was sent by chasemoorgain#@outlook.com. If you look quickly at the email address, you might not notice the misspelling of “morgan.” Other than the misspelling, the email looks pretty legitimate, which is why it often is hard to tell a phishing email from a legitimate email.
Massage from Customer Service
Dear Chase Online(SM) Customer
| We have detected irregular activity on your account. For your protection, you must verify this activity before you can continue using your account.
Please visit Online Banking to review and verify your account to remove any restrictions placed on your account. |
Linked E-mail:
- To restore your account, please Sign in to Online Banking
We are here to assist you anytime. Your account security is our priority. Thank you for choosing Chase.
Sincerely,
Chase Fraud Department
2015 JPMorgan Chase & Co
TIPS
For me, in addition to the email address sending it and the misspelling of “message,” a big indicator to me that this is a phishing email scam is the fact that I don’t have an online bank account with Chase. However, if someone receiving such an email did have an online account with Chase, they might be tempted to click on the link or provide the information purported to be necessary to regain access to their account. But trust me, you can’t trust anyone. So if you receive such an email and you think it might be legitimate, do not click on links in the email or provide personal information. Rather call the company at a telephone number that you know is legitimate to confirm whether or not the email was a scam.