Has Your Bank Account Been Hijacked by Online Scam ?

BEWARE of Latest Scams to Access Your Bank Account!!

Have you ever received an email from what appears to be PayPal or your bank asking you to “verify your account information”? Well, it may be legitimate. On the other hand, it may also be a fraudulent attempt to get access to your personal and/or financial information. Today it is more important than ever to recognize and avoid getting trapped by these fake phishing emails and not disclose your personal information, bank account or credit card details to unknown or suspicious looking sources. These unfamiliar sources may be trying to harvest private information via fake websites, links and emails.

This type of online scam is growing and has become an aggressive identity and financial theft tactic. . The risks seem to be multiplying. For example, with the majority of the population spending a large percentage of their time on computers and Smartphone’s this fraudulent activity is increasing in volume, frequency and sophistication with no slowdown in sight. . See video at bottom for Real Case demo

Last week I wrote a piece for my marketing clients about how to protect themselves from online criminal predators that are always coming up with new, creative schemes to get into your bank account. This dismal reality reared its ugly head again last week with an email I got from PayPal (supposedly). This “fake” email stated that I had not responded to their request to verify my account and which about to be suspended. Very convincing. However, I’ve been online for about 20 years now, since the early days of the internet and these scams are all too familiar. Ebay use to be a “safe haven” for these online predators before eBay removed the ability to contact other members directly. There were so many scams going on eBay up until a few years ago, you couldn’t keep track of them. However, online criminals have plenty of opportunities, in other channels, to capture your personal information. Most of these online scams have very similar “fingerprints”. For example, here are some of the things to look for when you get an email with an air of suspicion claiming to be your bank or other company you use to manage your financial assets such as PayPal or Google Checkout.

1). These emails are usually very aggressive using scare tactics like:
- If we don’t hear from you than (a threat will follow)
- In order to safeguard your account, we require that you confirm your banking details
2). They don’t use your Real name. They refer to your email or business name
3). The web address has a “hidden” flaw (see the video for this)
4). The recipient email is fake or has a mistake
5). Watch the video for actual true case study example.

Below is a short 4 minute video I created for You showing a real life case study and details of what to look for in a fraudulent email. In this video I show you the exact email I received last week in an attempt to “steal” my personal and financial information. It may be the most valuable four minutes of your day. NO sales, No hype, just a few critical things to watch for. See video Below.

Meanwhile, this growing dilemma doesn’t discriminate. Anyone who orders anything online or does online banking is a target for this new age of internet crime. Hence, I believe this is such an important topic, especially during this peek holiday online shopping season for the majority of the population I have sent it to all our customers. Critical information that could save you from a serious financial threat or outright identity theft. (To see video below in Full Screen just run your mouse to the lower right corner with the 4 arrows and click, will open video in full screen).