Citibank has warned customers to immediately delete a
scam e-mail asking them to provide their user names and the first
four digits of their bank cards.
The e-mail, which appears to come from Citibank with the subject
"Your Checking Account at Citibank", warns bank customers that
their checking accounts could be blocked if they do not provide
their user information.
Citibank is working with law enforcement officials to locate the
source of the fraudulent e-mail. The bank has published a list of
precautionary steps on its website to help customers avoid problems
with unsolicited junk e-mail, and is urging customers who receive
suspicious online mail to alert company officials.
This is the latest example of "phishing," or official-looking
messages telling recipients that, for technical reasons, billing
information and identity data, such as social security numbers,
must be submitted for their accounts.
In July, the US government and ISP EarthLink warned of a surge
in unsolicited e-mail and scam websites designed to steal the
identity of internet users.
The ISP had seen a spike since the beginning of the year in
e-mail linked to phisher scams, which use spam to lure victims to
websites designed to look like legitimate retail or corporate
sites.
In the same month, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled
a civil action against a 17-year-old California boy accused of
tricking internet users into giving him their credit card numbers
and other personal information on a bogus website meant to look
like America Online's billing centre.
The settlement, pending approval by a federal court in central
California, will bar the defendant from sending spam and force him
to give up about $3,500 (£2,200) in profits from his venture, which
ran from July to December 2002, before the FBI confiscated his
computer.
John Blau writes for IDG News Service