Scam Combines Patriot Act FUD With IE Bug

LostCluster writes "CNET, Reuters, and the AP are all reporting this morning about a circulating e-mail scam that claims that people will lose their FDIC bank account insurance because they are suspected of violating the Patriot Act unless they confirm their bank account information with a website. The scammers then use the already documented bug in IE that allows a site in Pakistan to get 'www.fdic.gov' to appear in the URL bar. Where's an MS patch when we really need one?"

Comments

3-m@1L $c@mmz0r$

[mac os ken]

I will probably never understand fully why anyone would fall for an e-mail scam that is clearly not legitimate. When I get a spam telling me:

"W3 n33d jO0r b@nk @cc0un7 # bc@u$3 FDIC $@ys $0."

I hit delete. Unfortunately some people fall for this. Does anyone have any numbers on just how succesful these e-mails are? Is the American public that ignorant?

Re:3-m@1L $c@mmz0r$

[hchaos]

Unfortunately some people fall for this. Does anyone have any numbers on just how succesful these e-mails are? Is the American public that ignorant?

No, the American public is not that ignorant. Very few scams are clever enough to hook the American public. Fortunately for the scammers, the American public isn't the target. Just like the Nigerian scam, it only takes about 0.001% of the population to fall for it in order to make a lot of cash.

FDIC issues scam alert press release

[LostCluster]

The real www.fdic.gov is running a rather standard press release to warn that it's a scam.

Consumers never have any reason at all to send information to the FDIC. They already can get all they need to know out of banks.