Identity Theft Scam

[bountyhunter]

Just got this, knew it was fake immediately because I have no account at Wells fargo. I regularly receive the same type of scam mail for e-bay and VISA, neither of which I have accounts for. The goal is to get you to enter user names and passwords so they can get credit cards in your name.

Dear customers:

Wells Fargo is constantly working to increase security for all Online Banking users. To ensure the integrity of our online payment system, we periodically review accounts.

Your account might be place on restricted status. Restricted accounts continue to receive payments, but they are limited in their ability to send or withdraw funds.

To lift up this restriction, you need to login into your account (with your username or SSN and your password), then you have to complete our verification process. You must confirm your credit card details and your billing information as well. All restricted accounts have their billing information unconfirmed, meaning that you may no longer send money from your account until you have updated your billing information on file.

To initiate the billing update confirmation process, please follow the link bellow and fill in the necessary fields:

https://online.wellsfargo.com/signon?LOB=CONS

If this link don't work try it after 3 to 5 Hours.

BTW, how many corporations would have a moron who can't handle fifth-grade English composing mass-mail text? From above:

If this link don't work try it after 3 to 5 Hours.

Should be:

"If this link doesn't work, try it after 3 to 5 hours."

1) Used "don't" instead of "doesn't".

2) No comma after the prpositional phrase "If this link doesn't work".

3) Capitalized the word "hours".

These morons should hire somebody who made it past fifth grade.

[straightshooter1]

That one has been going around for a while. Sometimes, however, they do check their grammar and spelling. Some of those are pretty hard to detect so you gotta figure every single one is a fraud (which they are).

Locally, we had a lawyer who was taken in one of the Nigerian Scams-all this money is available, just need an account in the States to deposit it in and you will get x percentage just for letting me use your account. Send your account number etc....and he did and they emptied it. There are several versions of this one.

I know most of you probably don't have a lot of sympathy for the lawyer, but my point is that, apparently at least, anyone can fall for one of these. I mentioned on another thread the ebay message from a bidder asking about something you bid on or asking about something you have for sale. When you see it, you think this is a mistake, you click to reply, it asks you to log on, password etc.... and you just gave away one of your passwords. Keep going and you will log in at Paypal (giving them your password) and pretty soon you'll have a lot in common with the lawyer.

The only way to be safe is to never reply, never give up a password and, even then, we see a lot of victims from using a credit card in a restaurant or department store. Maybe it would be safer to go back to using cash.