Latest Bank of America Scam

Below is the latest scam that is going around, I received this from a lady who wanted to know if it was real or not. I did some research and of course it was not. If you google the following (Joan Own, David Dupont or daviddupont154@aol.com) , you will find more information on this scam.

My recommendation is to delete it and do not respond to this email.
_________________


From: BANK OF AMERICA <joan.own@bankofamerica.com>
Sent: Tue, Aug 4, 2009 7:41 am
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT NOTIFICATION...

Bank of America Corporate Center

Senior Personal Banker - Head Office

Bank Of America Corp Ctr 100 North Tryon Street

Charlotte, NC 28255-0001

ATTN: BENEFICIARY

This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigation with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you legally won the sum of $800,000.00 USD from our online balloting system in the Banks Head Quarter in United States of America. This funds have been investigated and we have discovered that your e-mail won the money from our Online Balloting System and we have been authorized to contact you and pay to you, your winnings via a Certified Cashier's Check.

Normally, it will take up to 2 business days for an Bank of America Check to be cleared, cashed and remmited into your account by another local bank. We have successfully notified the banks on your behalf that funds are to be drawn from our registered bank, the Bank Of America so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any delay, henceforth the stated amount of $800,000.00 USD has been deposited with our bank, Bank Of America in COVINA, CALIFORNIA. where your check is deposited in a new online account. This is the Online Number: 626-453-8400 to verify the deposited Check.

We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the certified cashier's check into your personal account as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds is with Bank Of America you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Bank of America Agent in-charge of this transaction whom is located here in United States of America. According to the directives, you are required to pay for the following -

(1) Deposit Fee's (Fee's paid to setup a new account for the beneficiary by the Bank Of America)

(2) Courier Delivery Fee (Fee paid to deliver the check through UPS deleivery to your designated address)

(3) Insurance (This is the fee paid by bank to insure the check before been deposited at the bank)

The total amount for everything is $450.00 (Four Hundred and Fifty-US Dollars). We have tried our possible best to indicate that this $450.00 should be deducted from your funds but we found out that the funds have already been deposited at Bank Of America and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the beneficiary, therefore you will be required to pay the required fee's to the Agent in-charge of this transaction via Western Union Money Transfer Or Money Gram.

In order to proceed with this transaction, you will be required to contact the agent in-charge (Mr. David Dupont) via e-mail. Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:

CONTACT AGENT NAME: MR. David Dupont

E-MAIL ADDRESS: daviddupont154@aol.com

BANK OF AMERICA, 1375 N Citrus Ave, Covina, CA 91722.

You will be required to e-mail him with the following information:

FULL NAME:

ADDRESS:

CITY:

STATE:

ZIP CODE:

DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER:

You will also be required to request Western Union details on how to send the required $450.00 in order to immediately Deliver your funds $800,000.00 USD via Certified Cashier's Check drawn from Bank Of America, also include the following transaction code in order for him to immediately identify this transaction : EA2948-910.

After making the payment to the Agent in-charge, an Account Information, with Account Name and Access Code will be given to you, to access your funds where it is deposited in an online account with the bank of america. This is the Online Account Number: 626-453-8400 and the Agent incharge will issue you the CODES.

This letter will serve as proof that the BANK OF AMERICA is authorizing you to pay the required $450.00 ONLY to Mr. David Dupont via information in which he shall send to you, if you do not receive your funds of $800,000.00 we shall be held responsible for the loss and this shall invite a penalty of $10,000 which will be made PAYABLE ONLY to you (The Beneficiary).Failure to contact Mr. David Dupont and complete the delivery of your check to you, the check will be deposited with the bank reserve.

Best Regards

JOAN OWEN

Senior Personnel Banker - Head Office

Note: The $450 can not be deducted from your fund of $800,000 becuase the cashiers's check have been insured and also all fees must be paid before the check will be delivered your designated address.

Phishing Overview in the United States

In United States, phishing is becoming one of the fastest evolving classes of identity theft scams on the Internet, causing both short-term losses and long-term economic damage. In a phishing scam, the identity thief poses as a legitimate person from a reputable company to try to entice people to visit bogus Web sites, where they are asked to reveal important personal information, such as credit card data. Although most phishing attacks target the financial industry, a growing number of phishing incidents target other sectors, such as retailers, online game operators and Internet Service Providers.

In 2003 and 2004, several financial institutions like the Bank of America, Bank One, Citizens Bank, U.S. Bank, SunTrust, MBNA, Wells Fargo and Visa were the victims of phishing attacks. Today, national banks are not the only targets of phishing. Many of the phishing attacks in United States now target regional banks and credit unions. A total of 42 local banks across 23 states in United States were spoofed in phishing attacks between June and September 2006

What is "Phishing"?

Phishing is a form of activity in which phishers try to obtain personal information, such as credit card details, consumer e-mail passwords or bank account passwords by pretending to originate from a reliable and valid source. Phishing is used by identity thieves by using a variety of entrapping methods to ferret out the personal information of innocent Internet users.
When an e-mail is received which appears to come from a consumer's bank and asks to log in onto the consumer"s banking account to keep the account active, it is known as technically- engineered phishing. These attempts to gain a consumer's personal and confidential information are known as phishing attacks.

What is Spear Phishing?

Spear phishing is a method in which e-mails appearing to be authentic are sent to all employees or members of a particular company, government agency, organization or group. The message will look as though it is coming from an employer or from a colleague of that company who has sent the e-mail to obtain login information. Spear phishing scams endeavor to procure access to a company's whole computer system.

What is Vishing?

Obtaining credit card information illegally, using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone calls is known as vishing. Vishers benefit from the inexpensive anonymous Internet calling available through VoIP services, which also permit the offender to use simple software programs to set up a professional- sounding automatic customer service line. Furthermore, unlike most phishing attacks, which purport to be from a genuine organization, would not normally use e-mail to ask for personal information from accountholders, vishing, in fact, imitates an emblematic bank protocol in which banks encourage clients to call and confirm information.
Phishing activity is rising rapidly in United States. One reason is that there is a high rate of broadband Internet usage in the United States. This provides a fertile ground for botnet-hijacked computers. Many of the phishing attacks are hosted in a compromised computer that is a part of a botnet. Typically, in the United States, phishers prefer to begin their attacks in the morning so that victims will receive the e-mail, when they first check their inbox. Another rationale for this tactic is that if an attack is hosted in the U.S and is launched in the early hours of the morning within a U.S time zone, it is not easy to reach the Internet Service Provider.

Conclusion:
Over the past six months, Internet users in the United States have received numerous e-mail attacks The financial services sector continues to remain the most common targeted industry sector for phishing attacks. Generally, an ordinary phishing attack can cost a financial institution $50 and $60 per account negotiated, or a total of approximately $50,000 for each attack. Phishing poses a serious threat, since the methods of attack are continuously evolving and because phishers are often difficult to track and apprehend.

Bank of America Phishing Scam

From SecurityOrb.com Website:

Bank of America Phishing Scam

Summary

SecurityOrb.com have reported a new phishing scam email in circulation. The
following message is a phishing scam attempt sent out to gain illegal
access to bank account information. Do not respond, or click the links
contained in the email, delete it immediately.


Bank of America Phishing Scam Email

From: Bank of America U.S. Online Treasury'08
[mailto:customers-department-reference-38gjm@bankofamerica.com]
Sent: Mon 2/4/2008 10:05 AM
To: Doe, John A.
Subject: Please Authorize Your BOA U.S. Commercial Account

Dear Bank of America Direct User:

Our records indicate that a new digital certificate has been issued to
your Bank of America Direct user ID.
The new certificate will be available for an installation period of 90
days, or until May 01, 2008 before expiration. If you choose not install
your digital certificate prior to the expiration date, then your access
to Bank of America Direct will remain interrupted.

Digital certificates are computer-based records issued to individual
user IDs that allow Bank of America Direct to validate your identity and
protect your information from unauthorized access. In order to access
Bank of America Direct, you must use a valid digital certificate.

Installation Instructions

To install your newly-granted digital certificate, please access the
Digital Certificate Pick-Up site at:

hxxp://direct-certs3.bankofamerica.com/direct/certpickup.htm?referrer=20
yeucslDbczyOrcecOahg



Sincerely,

Bank of America Direct Technical Care Center