a reminder to anyone who does anything online

[lagilman]

as received in mail today, this is what is known as an IQ test. Would you pass?

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

Important Notification

Dear Wachovia Bank Customer,
Since years Wachovia Bank is serving its clients with the most reliable service. In Banking the most important part is the security of our clients. Wachovia Bank always look forward for the high security of our clients.
We are proud to announce about the new security measures for providing our clients with a new secure online system. We updated our new SSL servers to give our clients a better, fast and secure online banking service.
Due to the recent update of the servers, you are requested to update your account information at the following link:

https://secure.wachovia.com/botn/pagelogin

*Important*
You are requested to fill out the form exactly the same as you filled at the time of sign up with Wachovia Bank online banking. Please provide all the info completely and correctly otherwise due to the security reasons we may have to suspend your account temporarily.
George S. Scott
Security Advisor

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

Might _might_ be a little more impressive if a) it were written in even halfway decent business English and b) I actually, y'know, had an account with Wachovia...

Comments

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Not to mention it's George =C.= Scott. Don't they know from nuttin'?

Idjits.

[lagilman]

*snicker* I thought of that, too.

[kalligraphy.livejournal.com]

Dr. Scott!
Brad!
Janet!
Dr. Scott!
Brad!
Janet!
Dr. Scott!
Brad!
Janet!
Rocky!

Sorry, couldn't resist. Yeah, I noticed the rather poor english. Mistakes no native English speaker would make, not to mention the absolutely horrible way that they repeated themselves.

I almost had a Wachovia bank account. When I moved to Virginia I needed to open a local account, and the Wachovia bank was very convenient to where I worked. So I took my first paycheck, walked across the street and asked to see someone about opening an account. I got the usual spiel and then was asked to provide various and sundry bits of information, like id, home address, phone number and who played The Cisco Kid, you know the normal 20 questions game. I pulled out my NJ Driver's License, having just moved from NJ, just 2 weeks before. The nice person at Wachovia informed me that they could not accept a DL from a state that is not a state they do business in (apparently they didn't do business in NJ back 1999). I'm like huh? Because I don't have a Va. DL my money isn't green enough? This is dumb! I left the bank, went down the street and opened an account at the Chevy Chase bank there. Oddly enough they had no problems accepting my money. So considering that level of stupidity, maybe this letter is real. *giggle*

[lagilman]

Finding a good bank is tougher than it should be. I love my current bank (Commerce), but the bastids don't seem to be in Connecticut yet. :-(

Of course, yet is the operative word, since they seem poised for world domination within the decade....

[blazedglory.livejournal.com]

Our local credit union is good. Friendly people work there, too. Also haven't seen a phish letter yet, just a warning on their website.

The phish letters from banks I've don't have accounts with are just about my favorite scam spams.

[thecityofdis.livejournal.com]

I've been getting e-mails like this from JP Morgan repeatedly - under my school account. Grr.

[hoosier-red.livejournal.com]

Hmm -- not that I would do this, but it brings up an idea of offering freelance copyediting services to phishers...

[blazedglory.livejournal.com]

Do you think they make enough to pay top dollar? 'Cause that would be sad. Satisfying to take, in a way. But very sad.

Too bad about that ethics thing ...

::sigh::

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of starting a freelance proofreading service for awnings and menus. I'd make a freaking fortune.

[logrusboy.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to decide whether to criticize you for posting their link apparently intact (I'm not silly enough to test it) or applaud you doing your own little bit for fiscal Darwinism... :)

[lagilman]

Darwinism. Or as assumption about the intelligence of my LJ-readers. Or, Darwinism to ensure the intelligence of my LJ-readers?

[logrusboy.livejournal.com]

Whichever most pleases you, milady. I rather like both, myself, but I am known for being greedy.

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

A couple of years ago, an illegal immigrant stole the identity of a registered (but missing) sex offender.

I wonder if there's some way to land phishers in that kind of trouble.

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

Almost forgot: I've been geting virus-laden email disguised as phishing letters.

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

I get these from Chase bank (supposedly) all the time, warning me that my account's been hacked, but I don't have an account there. Idjits.

[david-chunn.livejournal.com]

In comparison, the English was pretty good in that one. Seriously. The ones that usually make it to me are much worse.

[merlinpole.livejournal.com]

I tend to set email filters to automatically forward email with certain terms in them off to the FTC (the FTC website has had the line, "We're probably the only people in the world who want [the spam sent to you]"). I wish that the FBI made forwarding phishing expediction and other scams and fraudulent email easier, instead of their annoying, dysfunctional enter-everything-on-this-form-and-have-it-then-refuse-to-accept-the-thing anyway.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

The scary thing is people fall for them.

I got one designed to look a lot like my real bank, but fortunately it had a couple of the usual give-aways.

[(Anonymous)]

I keep a separate email account for important registrations, like banking, and credit cards. I never post it anywhere, nor share it with anyone outside of those chosen companies. I get ZERO spam on it.

I have, however, gotten several very legitimate looking phisher emails on my main personal email account pretending to be from my bank (JP Morgan Chase). Normally I just delete them, but occasionally I will call the nice woman at my local branch who has handled my accounts for the last 12 years, and she double-checks my information on her computer. It helps insure against anyone successfully changing my contact information without my knowledge.

Sean

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I didn't mention before, having been ill at the time, but this is a great idea. I am mulling over where to put that account address.