Here is a brand new email-borne scam hitting the Internet as we speak. This one is a step up from the other ACH and wire transfer scams we have been seeing as of late as the scammer has put a bit of work into it in the hopes of convincing you that it is legitimate.

We’ve been getting around a half-dozen of these ACH and wire transfer scam emails a day for weeks now but this one stands out because of their better use of the English language and the crafting of the email body. The others were rather pathetic and clearly done by rank amateurs – this one not so much.

The aim of the email is to attempt to get the victim to click a link to a compromised website where they will steal your personal details. Once again – never fill out any form for anything financial that is NOT on the bank or other financial institution’s actual website. Keep the real url’s bookmarked on your computer and visit them directly – never click links in these scam emails. Some of these websites will also contain malware that will attempt to install on your computer without your knowledge. These malware installations also aim to log and steal your personal details and/or will use your computer to facilitate further internet crimes.

The email is below. The ‘from’ address is faked and the actual sender is from 109.84.22.187 – belonging to Vodafone.de. The scam aims to take you to – radwalls.xox/wordpress/12lop.html. This is a website that has either been hacked or the server it is on was – either way it clearly is not in any way associated with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Dear Sir/Madam,
Your account ACH and Wire transactions have been provisionally placed on hold for your safety, due to the expiration of your security version. We encourage you to download and install the newest installations, by following this link.

As soon as you have installed it, the functioning of your account will be completely restored.

Best regards, Online Security Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

If you were fooled by this email or one similar you need to contact your financial institution immediately and let them know what has happened. Yes it may be embarassing but time is of the essence. Your personal details are often collected along with other victims and sold on to other groups for further abuse!