Thursday 27 September 2007

National Westminster Bank customer service: official update!

It's the same old NatWest email again - do phishers really have no imagination other than sending the same old email day after day? I've no idea whether it is different people using the same email or one person, but it gives me the opportunity to publish another slight variation.

As always, it's not personalised and the link provided is different when you hover the mouse over it to the link shown in the email.

Not very clever, please don't give your details away to them!




Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-134103527.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday 26 September 2007

Important message from National Westminster Bank! (mess_id: 5409481371714)

NatWest continues to be targetted by phishers and it's still the variation of the text only email, along with a load of hidden random characters at the bottom of the email.

The usual pointers are all there - not personalised and not going direct to the real website. And why oh why do they put a fake copyright at the bottom? Does that make more people click on the very dodgy link?

If you receive a copy - just bin it and don't follow the link.

Here's the email, without the hidden random text.



Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-157421.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

Warning Notification

Here's a more realistic phishing email. This time the sender has taken the time to put a realistic PayPal logo and header banner across the top. The header even reminds you to stay protected online. All very reassuring, just a shame that they make a few basic mistakes that easily identify it as phishing:

1 - The To: field is not populated - they've BCc the list of recipients.
2 - The introduction is 'Dear paypal member' - PayPal always address by name.
3 - They threaten to suspend the account (I'm not aware of PayPal making this threat ever for not updating details...).
4 - They have said the information needs to be updated by 22 September, in an email sent on the 26 September.

All in all, not very convincing. Here's the content, minus the clever banner:



Dear paypal member,

It has come to our attention that your PayPal® account information needs to be updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce the instance of fraud on our website. If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into any future problems with the online service.

However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension. Please update your records before September 22, 2007.

Once you have updated your account records, your PayPal® account activity will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.

Click here to update your PayPal account information

Copyright © 1999-2007 PayPal. All rights reserved.
Information about FDIC pass-through insurance

Monday 24 September 2007

Important notice from The Royal Bank of Scotland! (mess_id: 0979183046)

This one is very similar to the previous post, just a different subject and a different target website and this was received 12 hours later. These frequently arrive at similar times - presumably the phishing websites are being closed down and the senders need to send their victims to new websites.




Dear customer of The Royal Bank of Scotland,

RBS Customer Service requests you to complete Digital Banking Online Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all RBS Digital Banking users.

Please click hyperlink below to access Digital Banking Online Form.


http://rbsdigital-id839503861.rbs.co.uk/rbs_onlineform/customercare/form.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

------------------------------------------------------

The Royal Bank of Scotland © 2007

The Royal Bank of Scotland Reminder: Confirm Your Account Details! (message id: vn855053219)

Back to the plain text emails. Obvious pointers that this is a fake:

1 - Dear customer - the bank would use your name

2 - When you place the mouse over the link and look at the real URL, it's actually a website fkjirtg.cn.

And as I've said before - why the copyright notice??? Do any real banks use that!

Here's the content of the email:




Dear customer of The Royal Bank of Scotland,

RBS Customer Service requests you to complete Digital Banking Online Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all RBS Digital Banking users.

Please click hyperlink below to access Digital Banking Online Form.


http://rbsdigital-id267316038.rbs.co.uk/rbs_onlineform/customercare/form.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

..........................................................................

The Royal Bank of Scotland © 2007

Billing Failure #8341

This one deserves a comment. Most of the phishing emails received recently have just been plain text, but this one took plenty of time to use colours and a logo to try to convince recipients that it was real. Pointers that it's a fake and not really from the bank:

1 - it addresses 'Dear Customer' - banks would address by name...

2 - the threat to close the account is there to make you worry - why would they close the account if there had been a billing failure and you owed them money?

3 - Copyright notice - I've never seen this on a genuine email - why do all phishers think it's required?

4 - Apart from that, I don't have an account with them, so it must be fake!

Here's the email:


Dear Customer,

First National Bank of Santa Fe temporarily suspended your account.
Reason: Billing failure.
We require you to complete an account update so we can unlock your account.

To start the update process click here.

Once you have completed the update, you can access your account at any time.
The information provided will be treated in confidence and stored in our secure database.


Please be Aware!!
Your account will be deleted if you fail to complete the update process.


© 2005 First National Bank of Santa Fe

Friday 21 September 2007

Barclays Bank - urgent notification from Protection Department

Dear Barclays Online Customer

Barclays Protection Department requests you to start the client details confirmation procedure. By clicking on the link at the bottom of this letter you will get all necessary instructions hot to start and complete the confirmation procedure. The following steps are to be taken by all customers of the Barclays Online Banking.

Barclays Protection Department apologises for the inconveniences caused to you, and is very grateful for your cooperation.

To start the confirmation procedure, click the following link:

[link removed]

Customer Service
Barclays UK
http://www.barclays.co.uk/

Please verify your account details!

Dear Valued Customer,
Our banking software has been changed to be able to provide you more secured online transactions and these will be affecting some of our customers account who has not updated there account on the new bank software system. Use the link below to proceed and access your account, to check if you are not affected.
Sign in to Secured Online Banking to continue to the verification process.
(Failure to verify your account details may lead to account disconnection)

Nationwide Building Society
Security Advisor.
Nationwide PLC ©
2007 All Rights Reserved.

Citibank UK

*******This message is for CitiBank United Kingdom customers only***********

Your Citibank Card balance is currently overdue and we require an immediate payment of ?43.97.

What to do next

Go to your Citibank account account, select the 'Move money' tab and choose the 'Make a one-off payment' option, and then follow the on-screen instructions. If you're having trouble finding the money to make your payment, you can talk to us about alternative options or help with getting on top of your finances on 0800-00-55-00 (If calling from abroad dial +44 20 7500 5500).

As soon as possible, please access your online account following the link below:

Check your online account

If you've already spoken to us or you've put your account in order, please ignore this communication.

Yvonne Smith
CitiBank United Kingdom
Card payments Dept
0800-00-55-00
Citibank International Plc

Fiona Parrot has just sent you 21.00 GBP with PayPal

You've got new funds!

Fiona Parrot just sent you money with PayPal.

Fiona Parrot is an Unverified buyer.

National Westminster Bank: Confirm Your Information!

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-881819.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.


----------------------------------------------------

Wednesday 19 September 2007

Notice: Confirm Your Online Records!

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,
National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online
Banking Customer Form.
This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National
Westminster Bank.
Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.

http://onlinesession-841666.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.a
spx
Please do not respond to this email.
Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

The Royal Bank of Scotland reminder: mail from The Royal Bank of Scotland! (message id: 71631615)

Dear customer of The Royal Bank of Scotland,
RBS Customer Service requests you to complete Digital Banking Online Form.
This procedure is obligatory for all RBS Digital Banking users.
Please click hyperlink below to access Digital Banking Online Form.

http://rbsdigital-id37416.rbs.co.uk/rbs_onlineform/customercare/form.aspx
Please do not respond to this email.
**********************************************
The Royal Bank of Scotland © 2007

Tuesday 18 September 2007

National Westminster Bank customer service: official information! (message id: 89757352)

Dear NatWest Bank customer,

NatWest Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of NatWest Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-2490415859.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

NatWest Bank: official information! (message id: yu34826389)

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-77317671.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

National Westminster Bank: Please Update Your Details! (mess_id: z9428915225p)

Dear NatWest Bank customer,

NatWest Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of NatWest Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-52190.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

National Westminster Bank customer service: e-banking account confirmation!

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-698092320.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

Alert - Online Form Released! (message id: GV8252213810)

Dear customer of The Royal Bank of Scotland,

RBS Customer Service requests you to complete Digital Banking Online Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all RBS Digital Banking users.

Please click hyperlink below to access Digital Banking Online Form.


http://rbsdigital-id7087976119.rbs.co.uk/rbs_onlineform/customercare/form.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

The Royal Bank of Scotland: important announce!

Dear customer of The Royal Bank of Scotland,

RBS Customer Service requests you to complete Digital Banking Online Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all RBS Digital Banking users.

Please click hyperlink below to access Digital Banking Online Form.


http://rbsdigital-id76163.rbs.co.uk/rbs_onlineform/customercare/form.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

important banking mail! (message id: wv92888101pb)

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-20801.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

The Royal Bank of Scotland customer service: important announce!

Dear customer of The Royal Bank of Scotland,

RBS Customer Service requests you to complete Digital Banking Online Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all RBS Digital Banking users.

Please click hyperlink below to access Digital Banking Online Form.


http://rbsdigital-id228229.rbs.co.uk/rbs_onlineform/customercare/form.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Software Updating! (message id: T987326393H)

Dear NatWest Bank customer,

NatWest Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of NatWest Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-2735091.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

Urgent Message For NatWest Bank Client! (message id: 925036290427040)

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-90741.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

National Westminster Bank: Please Confirm Your Online Banking Records! (message id: va0602068465701)

Dear NatWest Bank customer,

NatWest Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of NatWest Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-447884807.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

National Westminster Bank customer service: official information! (message id: 89757352)

Dear NatWest Bank customer,

NatWest Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of NatWest Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-2490415859.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

Important Account Notice! (message id: T08219542173XN)

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-613320193.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.

Important Information Regarding Your Account

Dear [email removed],
We recently reviewed your account, and we suspect an unauthorized ATM based transaction. Therefore as
a preventive measure we will temporary limit your access to sensitive Barclays features. To ensure that
your account is not compromised, please login to your Barclays Online Banking and verify your identity to
prevent deactivation.
SERVICE: Barclays Online Banking.
What you need to do:
- Go to: Barclays Online Banking
http://www.barclays.co.uk/
- Login to Online Banking.
Thanks for your patience.
Sincerely,
Barclays Centre
****************************************************************************
For any inquiries, contact Customer Service.
****************************************************************************

Monday 17 September 2007

NatWest Bank - Urgent Message For NatWest Bank Client!

Dear National Westminster Bank customer,

National Westminster Bank Customer Service requests you to complete Online Banking Customer Form.

This procedure is obligatory for all internet banking users of National Westminster Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Online Banking Customer Form.


http://onlinesession-90741.natwest.com/updatemode/userdatadirectory/start.aspx

Please do not respond to this email.

Copyright 2007. National Westminster Bank plc. All Rights Reserved.