Phishing off Citibank

The term Phishing ("fishing") is started to become more commonly used in TV, radio and printed matter - we published a description of the scam last June.

Here is a current example of such a scam, which perports to come from Citibank:

Dear Customer, Your Details Have Been Corrupted

Recently there have been a large number of cyber attacks pointing our database servers. In order to safeguard your account, we require you to sign on immediately.

This personal check is requested of you as a precautionary measure and to ensure yourselves that everything is normal with your balance and personal information.

This process is mandatory, and if you did not sign on within the nearest time your account may be subject to temporary suspension.

Please make sure you have your Citibank(R) debit card number and your User ID and Password at hand.

etc.

Citibank, or any other bank, would not issue such emails, particularly where the reply link goes to a non-descript location - which is likely to be a spoof website. But the wording is often plausible and were there are real cases of security errors (e.g. Cahoots), the scam does fool customers.

Incidentally, Citibank has addressed this problem straight on by publishing guidelines to its customers on the front page of its website. Well done Citibank!