Ebay | Notice of account temporary suspension

Here's quite a long phishing email targeted at Ebay.

It's designed to frighten you into thinking someone has been attempting to access your account, but don't worry, it's not an indication that anything that happened.

If you are in any way worried, type in the Ebay address manually, don't click any of the links.

Here's the details:

From: aw-confirm
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Notice of account temporary suspension
Target URL: http://chazanut.org/user/all/cancel.php

Notice of account temporary suspension


Stimated eBay member :


We regret to inform you that your eBay account, has been temporarily suspended due to various login attempts from diffrent global locations.

NOTE

This is a preventive Warning message for our users to be able to avoid fraudulent activity and future inconveniences.


As Romania is one of the most high rated fraudulent countries , we temporarily suspended your account to avoid future problems or misusage of your eBay account.


Here are the last 3 login attempts :

1. IP address : 193.105.3.173
ISP host : st13.i-cafe.orizont.net
Location : Romania

2. IP address : 80.97.171.22
ISP host : rds-net.bistrita.net
Location : Romania

3. IP address : 62.177.188.59
ISP host : adsl.bbeyond.ro
Location : Romania


If you are traveling and made these login attempts yourself or borrowed your eBay account to someone else , please log in below.

Travelling confirmation Here

If you want to re-activate your eBay account , please follow our instructions.

Re-activate your account Here

If this situation is not solved in the next 24 hours your account will be permanently suspended.


Sincerely, eBay

Abbey National | Your Online Account With Abbey!

Abbey's turn this time for a very basic text email. It's the very common Customer Confirmation Form, or CCF as the Phishers like to call it. No bank would ever randomly ask you to confirm your security details, and definitely not through a website with the name doplo.cn. Nothing comes up in Google about the site, so I assume it's new.

If you are worried about accidentally clicking on these sort of links then switch to a browser that has Phising protection, such as Firefox (above right).

Here's the content:

From: Abbey Client Service Team
To: Named email address, different to recipient's address
Subject: Your Online Account With Abbey!
Stated URL: https://myonlineaccounts2.abbeynational.co.uk/Static/html/logon.html
Target URL: http://session48379-abbey.co.uk.doplo.cn/customerdata/abbeyportal/customerdata/index.html

Dear Abbey customer,

Abbey Client Service Team requests you to complete the Customer Confirmation Form (CCF).

This procedure is obligatory for all clients of Abbey Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Customer Confirmation Form (CCF).


https://myonlineaccounts2.abbeynational.co.uk/Static/html/logon.html

Thank you for choosing Abbey Bank for your banking needs.

! Please do not respond to this email.

This mail generated by an automated service.

NatWest Bank | Confirm your identity!

Another one targeting the NatWest today. This one has used the clever trick of stripping the email address in two and using the first part (before the @) as the To: display name, to give it a bit more authenticity.

Worryingly, the URL quite clearly also shows a field containing a compter_id = so they are tracking every email that's sent and which are clicked on.

The target URL is qwert2.hk, wich a subdomain that is used to make the link look realistic. The website does appear in a few Google search results as a suspected phishing site.

Here's the full details:

From: NatWest Bank Plc
Subject: Confirm your identity! (message id: [removed])
Displayed URL: http://www.natwest.com/
Destination URL: http://www.natwest.com.qwert2.hk/

NatWest Bank is committed to safeguarding customer information and combating fraud. We have implemented industry leading security initiatives, and our online banking services are protected by the strongest encryption methods and security protocols available. We continue to develop new solutions to provide our online banking services and their customers with confidence and security.

The added security measures require all NatWest Bank customers to complete on a regular basis Online Customer Form.
Please use the hyperlink below to access Online Customer Form:


http://www.natwest.com/onlinebanking/customerform.aspx?computer_id=[removed]

Thank you for banking with us!

NatWest Bank Customer Support

PayPal | Please Restore Your Account Access

As I said earlier, PayPal and Ebay seem to be popular targets for phishing attacks today.

Here's one that I though at first was going to be like the one a couple of days ago, but is significantly different. It does show the PayPal logo at the top, but apart from that it's just a text email.

The email claims that PayPal has detected 'unusual charges' on a credit card linked to the account - how would PayPal know what you are doing with your credit card.

Very clever the way the email does suggest opening a new browser window and typing in the URL yourself, knowing that most will still just click the link and not read the text. Very clever - and definitely good advice.

Here's the details:

From: service@paypal.com
To: [private email address, but not the one the email was received at]
Subject: Please Restore Your Account Access
Actual URL: http://yourlocalhost.co.za/.PayPal.Com(T)/Billing/Edit/web/.Login/index.php
Stated URL: https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run

Dear PayPal Member,

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal
system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.We
requested information from you for the following reason:

Our system detected unusual charges to a credit card linked to your PayPal
account.

Case ID Number: PP-337-105-495



This is a third and final reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible.

Be sure to log in securely by opening a new browser window and typing the PayPal
URL. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account
access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety.

In accordance with PayPal's User Agreement, your account access will remain
limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your
account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further
limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to log in to your
PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this.

To review your account and some or all of the information that PayPal used to
make its decision to limit your account access, please visit the Resolution
Center. If, after reviewing your account information, you seek further
clarification regarding your account access, please contact PayPal by visiting
the Help Center and clicking "Contact Us".

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that
this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We
apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

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

PayPal Email ID PP638


https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run

Ebay | Unpaid Item Mutual Agreement for Item #320204534873 - Response Required

It seem that someone somewhere has it in for Ebay this week, there seem to have been rather a lot of Phishing emails targetted at them and PayPal.

On this one, I'm not convinced that the owner of the destination URL will actually know they are being used this way. A quick search on Google didn't bring up anything untoward, so it's possible that their website has been broken into for this purpose.

Warning signs that it's phishing - 'undisclosed recipients', no name in greeting and totally different URL to the Ebay URL. In this email, they have gone to the trouble of changing all of the links to the spoof pages.

If you are in any doubt worried by this email, don't click a link, just open a new browser window and type in www.ebay.com and sign into your account that way. I never click links on any Ebay emails any more for this reason.

Stay safe - make sure you are using a browser with phishing protection such as Firefox (link top right). Here's the details:


From: aw-confirm
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Unpaid Item Mutual Agreement for Item #320204534873 - Response Required
Destination URL: http://chazanut.org/user/all/cancel.php


Dear member,


We are contacting you about the following item: 1999 TIGERCAT 726B FELLERBUNCHER WITH SAWHEAD (#320204534873)

The seller, purplestarshines tells us you have mutually agreed not to complete the transaction (either because you returned or are returning the item for a refund, or because there was a misunderstanding) and has requested a credit for their eBay fees.

Please respond by 02-Feb-2008 so eBay knows whether you have made this agreement.

Please note: You and the seller will still be able to leave feedback for each other regarding this transaction.


Thank you,
eBay
Respond to this notification





Details for item number: 320204534873
Item title: 1999 TIGERCAT 726B FELLERBUNCHER WITH SAWHEAD
Item URL: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320204534873
End date: 28 Jan, 2008 18:50:54 GMT
Quantity: 1
Dispute URL: http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewDisputeConsole&DisputeType=1
Date dispute was opened: 30 Jan, 2008 08:03:03 GMT

Natwest Digital Banking: Urgent Security E-mail

Like yesterday's NatWest Phishing Email, this one is again sent to a named email address and the content is very similar to that one and many others before it.

It also carries the 'if you are not a user' disclaimer, which I find rather amusing. Maybe the spammers are hoping it will cause less people to send the email to the bank if there's an apology for non-customers.

The link goes to a website form12.in, which my domain lookup tools will tell me nothing about and it doesn't appear in Google.

Here's the details of the email:

From: Natwest Direct Banking Support
To: Named Email Address
Subject: Natwest Digital Banking: Urgent Security E-mail
Destination URL: http://www9.natwest.co.uk.form12.in/default.aspx

Dear NatWest Direct Banking client!

Our Technical Department is doing a scheduled Online Banking software update

By visiting the link below please begin the procedure of the client details confirmation:

http://www9.nwolb.com/default.aspx?agentid=24yzrpeFDozrcrkdwvrnOkhOvp

These directions are to be emailed and followed by all customers of the National Westminster Bank Internet Banking

NatWest Bank does apologize for any troubles caused, and is very appreciative for your cooperation.

If you are not user of Natwest On-line Banking please ignore this letter!

= This is automatically generated e-mail please do not reply =

(c) 2008 NatWest Bank On-line Banking. All Rights Reserved.

PayPal | Protect Yourself Against OnLine CreditCard Fraud

Here's the second of two phishing emails targeted at PayPal, both having got through spam detectors, both being sent to the same email account and both being received inside 30 minutes of each other.

This time the target URL is http://simplecarsale.com/.PayPal.Com(T)/Edit_Billing/index.php, but I suspect that because it follows the previous email that if other people are also receiving both emails, some are going to think this is PayPal taking action against the first and users could well fall for the second email all the more easily.

Don't fall for it, it's not real! Here's the content:

Dear PayPal Member,


You have received this email as part of a Verified PayPal Campaign meant to increase security for your credit card against online credit card fraud.

Verified Paypal has detected that you have been using this email address for online purchases and in order to protect yourself against online credit card fraud
We would like to introduce you to a new system that will
Protect you against frauds.

You can associate your email address to your credit card and receive a password that you will use for any online purchase. Also you will be notified by Verified Paypal when an online purchase is made.

Follow the below and go to Verified Paypal. You can join the Verified Paypal system or learn more about this.

PayPal | Please Restore Your Account Access

WARNING - This Email Has Managed To Get Through Spam Blocker.

This email has unusually made it through a spam blocker to arrive in my inbox. Most usually get deleted on the way, but this one survived, somehow.

It's also not sent to 'undisclosed recipients', as with a couple of other emails today the To: address is my correct email address. Overall, this email is very convincing and will reach a lot of people.

The target URL instead of PayPal is http://www.networker.kube-csc.net/raid/paypal.php. Quite interesting that the developer put 'raid' into the URL name - are they warning us what will happen to PayPal accounts if we are foolish enough to believe the email?

Overall, it looks well orchestrated. But it's not genuine - if you have received it, delete it now.

Here's the content:

Information Regarding Your Account:


Dear PayPal Member:

Attention! Your PayPal Account Could Be Suspended!

As a part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system.We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.We requested information from you for the following reason:

Our system detected unusual charges to a credit card linked to your PayPal account.

Reference Number: PP-259-187-991

This is the Last reminder to log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to Verify Your Credit Card & Billing Information.

Important Notice : Failure To Confirm Your Full Credit Card & Billing Information Within 72 Hour's Will Result Your Account Suspension.

Click Here To Verify Your Account Information




We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologise for any inconvenience..

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

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


Copyright © 1999-2008 PayPal. All rights reserved. PayPal (Europe) Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom as an electronic money institution. PayPal FSA Register Number: 226056.


PayPal Email ID PP059

NatWest Digital Banking Customer Email: Instructions For Customer

Here's an email that's done the rounds in slightly different formats for a while now.

This time the target URL is http://www1.nwolb.co.uk.sid17.com - nothing like the bank's address! The website is on the Firefox list of phishing sites (see top right) so you can protect yourself there.

Not much to say about this email that I haven't already said on previous versions of the email (see here). The greeting isn't customised, which is a big warning, but unusually like the Lloyds TSB Email received earlier today, it is sent to just 1 email address at a time.

Here's the content:

Dear Natwest Direct and Digital Banking customer!

Our Support Division is doing a planned Internet Banking Service update

By visiting the link below you will launch the procedure of the member login update:

http://www4.natwest.com/default.aspx?site=31zrohDkhbjcsdbhsnacadscndeOkhOvp

These directions are to be emailed and followed by all clients of the National Westminster Bank Direct and Digital Banking

NatWest does apologize for any problems caused to you, and is very grateful for your cooperation.

If you are not client of NatWest Bank Direct Banking please disregard this email!

= This is automatically generated e-mail please do not respond =

(C) '08 NatWest UK. All Rights Reserved.

Lloyds TSB | You have 1 security message,

Here's a very short and simple Lloyds TSB Phishing email.

The URL is cleverly disguised: http://online.lloydstsb.co.uk.form-7857.login-en.us/start/customer.ibc. You have to look carefully to see the URL - login-en.us - which was only registered yesterday.

The email was sent to my email address, rather than 'undisclosed recipients'. This not only makes it more realistic, but also more likely to get through spam blockers. Add to that the age of the website, and a few people could be falling for this one.

There's no reason why a bank would suddenly annouce your account details are about to expire, so don't trust the email.

Here's the content:

Online Banking alert,
Please note, that your Lloyds TSB online banking account is about to expire.
In order for it to remain active - please follow the link below to proceed and restore your account.

Continue using online banking.

Thank you for banking with us, ,

Ebay | Question about Item #190192984528 -- response required

Another one targetting Ebay in just a couple of days. It's a very basic email with next to none of the usual ebay graphics to help convince the recipient.

It's sent to 'undisclosed recipients', which shows that it's probably gone to a mass circulation list. Ebay would only ever email the one person at a time. Also, it's introduction is 'Dear member', rather than greeting by name, which Ebay always does.

The link actually goes to a page http://202.79.208.36/icons/ws/or/sign/index.html instead of Ebay. This does cleverly hide the fact that it's not ebay. But the site is blocked in Firefox - another great reason to download that browser if you aren't already using it.

Here's the email content:

Question about Item #190192984528 -- response required




Dear member,


eBay member ticketedge has left you a message regarding item #190192984528

View the dispute thread to respond.


Regards,

eBay

Congratulations!You're a PowerSeller.Get your PowerSeller benefits now !!!

The Ebay Powerseller Email is doing the rounds again this weekend. It takes exactly the same format and layout as last week's email, so check against that link if you think you have received the email.

It's a fraud - Ebay always personalise emails and the target URL is d1054282.domain.com rather than Ebay.

Don't touch it - you could get hurt!

Mr.Naoki Takahashi | COLLECTION AGENT WANTED

Time for another of these emails. Unusually, this wasn't sent to unspecified recipients but direct to an email box. They have taken the time and effort to send the emails individually, but not the effort to make the single paragraph email readable.

It's going to be a con in one of two possible ways (at least).

1) Possbily you could get yourself involved in illegal money laundering.

2) You could receive a cheque, bank in, wire the equivalent funds to them only to find that the cheque has actually bounced, thereby leaving you out of pocket.

Either way, no reputable company would randomly email people from spam lists asking them to receive and forward money on their behalf. If an offer seems to good to be true....

Steer clear of it. Here's the email:

Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd. 67 Elin South Road, Huizhou City 516001, Zhejiang, China. Dear Sir/Madam COLLECTION AGENT WANTED Hangzhou Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd. is based in China. We produce andexports steel and other products for world trade. Our company remains one of the most successful in the distribution of steel, recently our profit has increased so much that we decided to expand globally. The reason we seek your urgent assistance is that most of our customers make payment in cheques and American and Europe cheque takes a longer time to clear here in China thereby holding business down for us and our business associates. It is upon this note that we seek your assistance to stand in as our representative in your country. Note that Details of your account is not needed in this transaction, also, as our representative, your renumeration (Benefit) is on a percentage basis of 10% of the total amount you receive from our customers at any time on our behalf. Please note that your areas of specialization or occupation is of no relevant to resolve in assisting us and there is no financial obligation at your end. All we need from you is total honesty and your commitment to work with us. There are no hassles as this is a work at home opportunity. Should you have a present job, you can still be part of our business as your service to us would not interfere with your working hours at all. If you are interested in this position please forward to us the following information: 1) Your Full names: 2) Contact address: 3) Zip Code: 4) Home/office phone number: 5) Occupation: 6) Age: 7) Sex: Note: You are to forward the above information to my private email address: consult1_naokitakahashi@yahoo.com Yours Sincerely Mr.Naoki Takahashi Human resource manager Hangzhou Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd

Faith Burks | Transaction support vacant position in Waller Truck

Here's a wordy and lengthy email that's no doubt along the same sort of lines as yesterday's ITV-Solutions Email.

It goes to a lot of effort to convince the reader how reliable it is, but if they are so honest, why are they recruiting via spam?

There is mention of "trips to the bank and Western Union branches" - so it's either money laundering or just as simple as you receive a cheque to cash, but it actually bounces.

Unfortunately, the website link in the email didn't work, so I've no idea what website it was linking to!

Here's the email.

Since its establishment in 1959, Waller Truck Co., Inc. has centered its family-owned trucking business on : QUALITY, FAIRNESS, HONESTY and UNCOMPROMISING CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Waller Truck Co. is the largest provider of outsourced workplaces for individuals all over the world. The company provides more than 100,000 clients with flexible and cost-effective range of goods and services using help of regional associates at prestigious locations in business hubs and capital cities around the globe.

The only way that we can ensure our customers receive the highest standard of quality and service is to hire individuals who share our vision, dedication and entrepreneurial spirit. Due to our rapid expansion, we are seeking Regional Sales Managers in the UK.
If you love hard work but hate routine, if you are adventurous but responsible, if you have great communications skills, are interested in international sales and like a challenge, this job is for you.

Vacancy offered is a part-time or second employment. You'll be supposed to work from home, but at the same time Your Personal situation must allow you to travel around your place 1-2 hours a day on company assignments (that would be particularly trips to the bank and Western Union branches).
While implementing Company's assignments You shall be working as a member of a group, helping to enlarge a base of our customers in countries all over the world and liaise with head office on a daily basis. You'll be responsible for delivering high standards of customer service ensuring high delivery speed and quality of orders. That would particularly be done through managing a part of a sales cycle - ensuring fast remittance of payments through your bank account and then - through world wide Western Union system and calculating fees at each step.
To sum up - Your mission in the company would be to create and maintain positive relationships with existing clients that result in new customers, lead to and maximize opportunities for expansions and renewals to enhance revenue stream.

To become a Regional Sales Manager You should be able to perform: excellent spoken English & communication skills, significant attention to detail, excellent organizational skills and ability to work unsupervised. You shall be extroverted and outgoing, with a positive outlook, customer focused and focused on own personal goals, integrating the achievement of company objectives.
Having joined in our team, You'll enjoy a wide range of benefits we can offer! For example, a base salary with generous commissions (10% out of each payment you've dealt with) and expenses, as well as flexible timetable, that will allow you to chose the most suitable time to deal with company assignments.
If You are interested in a position offered and for the rewards you want, when you want them visit our website to apply.

We are waiting you hearing from you asap.
Any questions are welcome.
Yours sincerely, Faith Burks

NatWest | Your Online Account With Natwest Bank!

Here's one targetted at the NatWest's customers, that seems to have done the rounds many times.

It's the usual 'please confirm your security details' and says you must do it. No bank would ever do this and the email is in no way personalised.

Don't fall for it, here's the content:


Dear NatWest Bank customer,

NatWest Client Service Team requests you to complete the Customer Confirmation Form (CCF).

This procedure is obligatory for all clients of NatWest Bank.

Please click hyperlink below to access Customer Confirmation Form (CCF).


https://www.nwolb.com/default.aspx?refererident=BE34EEE

Thank you for choosing NatWest Bank for your banking needs.

! Please do not respond to this email.

This mail generated by an automated service.

ITV Solutions Scam Email?

Yesterday's post of the possible ITV Solutions Scam seems to have attracted lots of people's attentions.

Many thanks to everyone who has posted comments on the email. Other people on the net are also reporting an ITV Solutions Scam now, I assume they had a heavy mailing list yesterday and annoyed a lot of people.

Keep the comments coming!

ITV Solutions | international jobs online

Here's an email that may or may not be genuine opportunity. I would err on the side of caution and not deal with these people because the nature of the 'vacancies' is typical of scams.

There's no reply email address, you visit the impressive looking website. It has press releases (all from 2006), but for all it's talk, there's no Alexa traffic rating. I would expect to see at least something.

So I looked up the domain and it was only registered 3 days ago. There's nothing in google about the site, other than it has previously expired.

So what is the 'vacancy'. Basically, you cash a cheque and wire the funds abroad. It's supposed to be a Hong Kong based business and they state they can serve their customers quicker if you collect cheques and then pass the funds to them electronically.

To me, it sounds bad. Either you will receive a few thousand pounds in cheques, wire them on and then the cheques bounce, or you could be involved in a money laundering scam.

It seems quite an involved set-up - it's a good looking site etc. But transferring money around is usually a warning sign that the offer isn't what it seems. Especially when the job offer arrives through an email address that only spammers seem to know about.

Here's the email for you to make up your own mind - personally, I wouldn't touch it.

ITV Solutions is a market-leading provider of world-class technologies is once again beginning a global campaign of employing new staff in UK and Australia. We are offering you one more opportunity to earn extra cash working with us.

We are looking for honest, responsible, hard-working people to operate with our company in your particular region. To optimize our work with existing clients and to expand our business we need new staff that can dedicate 2-4 hours of their time per day and earn extra 300-500 GBP weekly. All offered positions are currently part-time and give you a chance to work mainly from home.

Please visit ITV Solutions for more details regarding these vacancies.

There are no fees or monetary expenses for you whatsoever. We offer an honest and dependable opportunity for you to get some extra cash working with us from home.

Important Message From Abbey National Bank Plc

Here's one that I suppose could look very realistic. It was actually sent to a mis-spelling of my email address, so not sure how it got through.

Of course, a real email such as this wouldn't be broadcast to all UK customers - see the first line. It would also be personalised with your name to show it is from the bank. And I'm sure a real bank would be able to figure out how to use a £, instead of 'J'!

Lastly, the link wouldn't point to a website with the name zalups.cn. The site is blocked by Firefox - so if you are still using another browser, another reason for downloading the free Firefox browser and using that! See the link on the top right.

Here's the content of the email

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

Your Abbey Card balance is currently overdue and we require an immediate payment of J43.97.

What to do next

Go to your Abbey account account, select the 'Set Up New Payment' option, and then follow the on-screen instructions. If you're having trouble finding the money to make your payment

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

https://myonlineaccounts2.abbeynational.co.uk/CentralLogonWeb/Logon?action=prepare

Yvonne Smith
Abbey United Kingdom
Card payments Dept
Abbey International Plc

NatWest Bank: account confirmation!

The phishing emails are coming through thick and fast the past couple of days after a quiet period! This one targets NatWest customers and requests that you start to regularly update your security details. Do the phishers think we'll believe that NatWest periodically forget our security details? I don't think so!

The target site is www.greatkenny.com, which is blocked by Firefox. So well worth downloading the free version of that browser (see link on the right) for your own protection there. If you are using Firefox and tried to use the link, there would be no way you would miss that it's not the real site.

Here's the email:
Dear NatWest Bank customer:

NatWest Bank is committed to safeguarding customer information and combating fraud. We have implemented industry leading security initiatives, and our online banking services are protected by the strongest encryption methods and security protocols available. We continue to develop new solutions to provide our online banking services and their customers with confidence and security.

The added security measures require all NatWest Bank customers to complete on a regular basis Online Customer Form.
Please use the hyperlink below to access Online Customer Form:


http://www.natwest.com/onlinebanking/customerform.aspx?computer_id=13153458725692071989751508175626707164025644580928120

Thank you for banking with us!

NatWest Bank Customer Support

Please update your online profile HSBC PLC

Here's one that's very similar in looks to the HSBC Phishing Email of November. The content is different slightly, this time it's as shown below.

The target domain does not seem to exist at the moment, but must have done as it does show with a page rank and Firefox does block the URL in question. It's well worth using Firefox if you are in any way worried about accidentally visiting these sites - the popup warning stops you going into them and gives you a chance to return to your home page.

Here's the content:

Dear Sir/Madam,



HSBC Bank Plc is hereby announcing the New Security Upgrade. We've upgraded our new SSL servers to serve our customers for a better and secure banking service,against any fraudulent activities.

Due to this recent upgrade, you are requested to update your account information by clicking the link below.

https://Securityalert.HSBC.co.uk/1/2/

HSBC Bank Plc
Security Advisor
HSBC Bank PLC