HSBC, Wells Fargo, Suntrust phishing attempted

OUR CULL OF our junk suspects in our email client today reveals that HSBC, Wells Fargo and Suntrust customers are all being targeted, joining a long list of other phishing lures dangling in the emal waters.

"Phishing" is the attempt by a criminal, posing as a bank employee to lure you into replying to an often very convincing email so that she, he or it can trap your banking details and leech your account and make transactions on your unwitting behalf.

The emails contain URLs which look real enough but go somewhere else, a somewhere else where you don't want your credit card details or bank account data to go.

HSBC
This one, purporting to come from supprefnum8@hsbc.com, is a typical example of a phish.

SunTrust
There's been a heap of these in the last week - this is an example of the many we've had here at the INQ.

Wells Fargo
Lastly, but not leastly, this Wells Fargo is one of several that entered our junkbox during last week.

Don't forget that you can report these attempts to your banks, and also, if you're in the USA, to the FBI, here. The total amount of fraud perpetrated by phishing could be immense. While the banks might know, they don't seem to be saying what that figure could be. µ