Phishing Scam Using the Name of St.George Bank, Australia - - Bank Account Suspension and Verification of Account Information

Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Summary:

Recently spreading emails, purporting to be from Australia's St. George Bank, claim that the recipient needs to click a link to log-on to his or account in order to update information, retrieve messages, or rectify specified problems with the account.

In fact, these message are phishing scams, like many before discussed on this platform, designed to steal financial information.Therefore, clearly messages are not from St.George Bank. 

Few examples of such messages are presented here below:

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Example (December 2010):

Dear Customer,

We detected irregular activities on your St.George Internet Banking account on December 02, 2010 . Your Internet banking account has been temporarily suspended for your protection, you must verify this activity before you can continue using your Internet banking account with St.George Bank Limited.

To restore your account and verify your account activity, Kindly click on the secure link below :
[Link Removed]

Security advice : Always logoff completely your Internet banking account after using internet banking from a public places or computer for security reasons.

Thank you,
Customers Support Service.
St.George Internet Banking services.
St.George and Westpac Bank Limited.

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Examples (June 2009):

Example 1: Subject: St.George Online Banking Alert

Dear member:

We have recently updated our Online system to include new layer secure authentication. This is intended to provide you with the best security possible when accessing your account.
You will need to update your account in order to continue using your card.

St.George Home - Update [Link Removed]

Your ticket code is ST7880040.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding.

Member ID 92996

Example 2:

Subject: St. George online banking

We'd like to inform you that your secure mailbox has 1 new message(s).

Please visit Net in order to read this message(s) from our secure location.

Net: Log On [Link Removed]

View all messages [Link Removed]

Example 3:

Subject: St.George Bank message

To view this St.George Bank message log in at [Link Removed]. Please do not "reply" to this message. Click here [Link Removed] for more information. Contact St.George Bank Contact us at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Sign-on to St.George Bank online [Link removed] Example Example 4:

Subject: Information Regarding Your Internet Banking Account

Restore your Internet Banking Access As a result of too many incorrect attempts to access Internet Bank- ing, your access to this service has been locked. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please Logon to Internet Banking to restore your account access as soon as possible.

Internet Banking: Restore Account

Example 5:

Subject: Banking Alert

Dear St.George customer,

During our regulary scheduled maintenance procedures, we have detected a slight error regarding your St.George Account. This might be due to one of the following reasons:

1. A recent change in your personal information (i.e. address changing).
2. Submitting invalid information during the initial sign up process.
3. Multiple failed logins in your personal account.
4. An inabillity to accurately verify your selected option of payment due to an internal error within our system.

*If your information is not updated within 48 hours then your ability to access your account will be restricted.

St.George - Update [Link Removed]

Thank you,
Ticket code is ST9402628,
Customer ID 68389,
St.George Bank , Billing Department

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Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Explanation:

Cyber cowboys and internet criminals are once again targeting Australian financial institution, St.George Bank.

During 2009, a a large number of phishing scam emails purporting to be from St.George Bank were distributed. Such scam attempts against St.George have continued, with submissions in late 2010 indicating another apparent spike in scammer activity. The emails make various claims designed to trick potential victims into following links included in the messages. Some claim that an important message is waiting for the customer online. Others claim that online banking has been "locked" or suspended due to too many failed log-in attempts or because of suspected fraudulent activity. Still others claim that due to errors detected in the system or changes in procedure, the customer's online banking details must be updated. All versions include links to bogus websites that have been constructed to closely resemble the genuine St.George Bank website.

Customers who are tricked into following these links and logging in to the fake sites, may then be asked to provide other confidential information such as credit card details and personal and employment details. The criminals responsible for these scam emails are able to harvest all the information provided on the fake website including the customer's online banking user-name and password. They can then use the harvested information to log-on to their victim's real St.George account, steal money, make unauthorized credit transactions and conduct other fraudulent activities.

The scam messages may include seemingly genuine St.George logos and copyright notices to further the illusion of legitimacy. Many of the 2009 scam emails were virtually identical to earlier messages that targeted the Commonwealth Bank. In some, the scammers simply substituted "St.George Bank" in place of "Commonwealth Bank" and switched logos and copyright notices to reflect their new target. In fact, several St.George Bank scam examples I have received still include references to the Commonwealth Bank as well, apparently due to laxity on the part of the criminal processing the scam messages.

Internet users should be very cautious of any unsolicited email that requests them to click a link and login to an online account and provide confidential information. Like other legitimate financial institutions, St.George Bank will never send emails that ask customers to click a link and provide personal information. The bank has published information warning customers about these phishing scam emails on its website.

Fake $50 Australian Banknotes Hoax - - Reality of Email Showing How to Distinguish Original and fake Banknote!

Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Summary:

A recently circulating message that claims to show recipients how to detect fake $50 Australian Banknotes. The message suggests that fake notes can be determined by a missing name under a portrait and by the order of signatures.

According to our postmortem of the said message, the information in the message is false. Depending on their year of issue, some legitimate banknotes do not have a name under a portrait. Also depending on their year of issue, some legitimate banknotes may have signatures in different orders. The information in the message is not a valid method of detecting a counterfeit note and it should not be forwarded to others. 

Let's have a look to the contents of the mail and photographs of alleged fake banknote. As the mail contains only jpg format of the photographs and the text written on it; therefore, we present here the text written on the photographs for reader's convenience. The text can be read as:

Please check that the name is on the note. The name should be: EDITH COWAN

Please confirm the signatures on the notes.Governor on top should be STEVENS. Treasury on bottom should be: Henry
 

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FW: Fake $50 bills getting around

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Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Explanation:

A message that is currently circulating, mainly in the form of a .pdf email attachment, supposedly offers advice on how to recognize counterfeit $50 Australian banknotes. The message, which features images supposedly showing fake and real banknotes placed beside each other for easy comparison, includes helpful "tips" about how to detect a counterfeit bill. According to the message, recipients should watch out for $50 notes on which the name "Edith Cowan" does not appear under her portrait. It also claims that another indication of a fake note is if the Secretary to the Treasury's signature appears above that of the Governor.

However, the claims in the message are untrue. The differences outlined in the message are not indications that a banknote is counterfeit. Both notes shown in the message are genuine. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has published the following statement on its website dismissing the information in the message as inaccurate:

Inaccurate Information Warning about Banknotes

The Reserve Bank of Australia has become aware of claims that the authenticity of a banknote can be determined by whether it has a name printed under its portrait or by the order of the signatures. This information is false.

A banknote without the name of the person printed underneath the portrait is not necessarily counterfeit. Printed names were added to Australian banknotes from 2002. This was done to help the public identify the people that our banknotes feature. Genuine banknotes produced prior to the addition do not have printed names.

The order of the signatures on Australian banknotes was also changed in 2002. Since then, the Governor's signature has been printed above that of the Secretary to the Treasury. Genuine banknotes produced prior to the change have the Secretary's signature printed above that of the Governor.

These changes were design changes only and should not be used to determine the authenticity of a banknote. Members of the public are encouraged to consult the guide on Counterfeit Detection for an explanation of the characteristics of genuine Australian banknotes.

Because many fifty dollar notes printed prior to 2002 are still in circulation, the false information in the message has caused a number of Australians to incorrectly conclude that they have received a counterfeit note. The rumour gained even more momentum after radio host Neil Mitchell aired the bogus "counterfeit indicators" on his radio program. A December 3, 2010 article in Albury-Wodonga news outlet "The Border Mail" reports:

BORDER businesses were barking up the wrong tree after finding “counterfeit” $50 notes.
McDonalds in Lavington and Todd’s Tasty Treats reported suspect notes to police on Wednesday after hearing a segment on 3AW Mornings, which is broadcast through 2AY.

3AW Mornings host Neil Mitchell warned listeners after being alerted to an email that allegedly revealed counterfeit indicators.

Albury police inspected the notes and said they were authentic.

Thus the information in the message is highly inaccurate and misleading and certainly should not be forwarded to others. Sending on such misinformation may cause unnecessary confusion and distress in the community and waste the time of police and bank staff who must field ongoing enquiries about banknotes mistakenly identified as counterfeit.

However, it should also been noted that, at the time of writing, some fake fifty dollar notes may indeed be circulating in Australia. A November 25th RBA news release reports:

Banknotes: Seizure of Counterfeits

On 24 November, the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police seized a quantity of $50 counterfeit Australian banknotes. Several associated arrests were also made. The counterfeits that have been seized are a good quality reproduction of a banknote. However, they can be identified as counterfeits by checking the security features. The overall rate of counterfeiting in Australia remains very low by international standards. It is, nevertheless, important that people are aware of security features on banknotes, so they are able to identify a counterfeit in the unlikely event they receive one.

These counterfeit notes are reportedly softer and lighter than genuine notes, and the stars of the Southern Cross found on the note's translucent window can be scratched off with fingernails.

"Winning Notification of 1,550,952.00 GBP from Microsoft Online Promo Mega Jackpot Lottery Awards - Scam Email From Dr (Mrs.) Mariam Andrew to Contact Kenneth David for Further Processing

Dear readers, 

I got the following message today from Dr (Mrs.) Mariam Andrew, congratulating me for winning the sum of 1,550,952.00 GBP from Microsoft Online Promo Mega Jackpot Lottery Awards programme. And I have to submit just my personal information. Interestingly, I've never participated in any Lottery Programme.

 Beware of following CONGRATULATION message that can hit your inbox also or might be already there in your spam box. This is clearly an effort to steal your private information. Don't respond at all to the mail coming from msnmvp002@cox.net and asking you to contact Kenneth David for claiming your prize



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From: "msnmvp002@cox.net" (msnmvp002@cox.net)
Sent: Fri, December 3, 2010 6:44:22 AM
Subject: WINNING INFO!
We are delighted to inform you that you have won the sum of 1,550,952.00 GBP from Microsoft Online Promo Mega Jackpot Lottery Awards programme. MICROSOFT! Collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to Live and Hotmail and few from other e-mail providers. Five people are selected yearly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners.

Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Centre. Microsoft Prize Award must be claimed not later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited.

For Claims Send Email To Claims Agent: Kenneth David OR Call: +44 70457 69462. Your Payment No -NK115G...Lucky No - 05

FULL NAME AND HOME ADDRESS:.............

COUNTRY:.................

PHONE NUMBER:................

AGE:............

SEX:................


Yours faithfully,

Dr (Mrs.) Mariam Andrew
On line co-ordinator.
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Too good to be true, isn't it...??  You might heard a proverb "Free cheese in the rat's trap only".

Please keep on sharing your comments and similar fraud mails and scams; so that our efforts can save the internet users from any kind of cyber victimization.

"Google Romance": An April Fool Joke of 2006 - - Realive in the Form of Hoax Mail To Spread Malware

Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Summary:

A fast spreading email message claimed to be from Google Romance pushes recipients to follow a link in order to log-on to Google Romance to read messages.

 

The reality is just an attempt to fool the recipient. In fact, the email is not from Google Romance. Clicking the given logon link opens a fake website that attempts to redirect the user's browser to other malicious websites that may contain further malware. In any case, "Google Romance" it is not a real dating service. Some of the readers may remember that I was just an April fool joke launched by company back in 2006 just for fun and humour.

The said Google Romance email message look like the given below:

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Google Romance Notification

[Google Romance Logo Removed]

To view these mails please log into your google romance account: [link to malware website removed]

Your login: 1291251199
Your password: LSA75HNP6SL

Google Romance. Manager [Name removed]

This notification was generated automatically and you are receiving it since you've registered at Google Romance

--
Google Romance mail delivery system!!!

Auto-generated e-mail, please, do not reply!!!

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Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Explanation:

This email, as we summarized earlier looks to be from "Google Romance", tells the recipient to click a link in the message, apparently, in order to logon to the service and view other messages. The message, which arrives complete with the Google Romance logo, rather helpfully includes the user's supposed log-on user-name and password. It claims to be an auto generated message from the Google Romance mail delivery system.

Still, the email is definitely not from Google Romance. Following the link launches a trojan that attempts to redirect the user's web browser to other malicious websites that may in turn try to download further malware components.

Like many similar malware emails, the message attempts to fool the user into following the link out of interest or curiosity as well as by masquerading as a legitimate message from what appears to be a genuine online entity. Unlike others of its kind, however, this rather quirky malware campaign uses a well known April Fool's joke as its bait rather than a real online service. Google Romance is not, nor was it ever, an actual, working dating service. The whole thing was just a joke, consisting of a superficially genuine Google website, launched by Google back in April 2006. There was never an option to actually register for the "dating service". Of course, a viewing of the Google Romance website quickly reveals that the "service" is not meant to be taken seriously: 

Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Search™, get back search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we'll send you both on a Contextual DateTM, which we'll pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you're looking for. 

And, even if you didn't quite realize that Google Romance was a joke straight away, following other links on the page - such as the "Post Your Profile" option - rapidly sets the record straight once and for all. In fact Google has been responsible for a number of clever April Fool's jokes and other pranks.

The choice of Google Romance as the bait for this malware campaign seems rather curious. Perhaps it just goes to show that even morally bankrupt scumbag scammers may still have a sense of humour.

Confirmable Bank Draft of $2,000,000.00 Handed Over to ALLIANCE COURIER SERVICE - - Recent Security Keeping fee Scam

Beware! It's a Cyber World:

Dear readers, 

I got the following message today from Mr. WILSON COLLINS, congratulating me for the Darft of $ 2,000,000 that was handed over to ALLIANCE COURIER SERVICE with all charges paid already. And I have to pay only Security Keeping fee of $550.00 US Dollars.

 Beware of following CONGRATULATION message that can hit your inbox also or might be already there in your spam box. This is clearly an effort to steal your private information. Don't respond at all to the mail coming from christyl@charter.net

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From: FROM MR.WILSON COLLINS (christyl@charter.net)
Sent: Thu, December 2, 2010 6:57:40 AM
Subject: CONGRATULATION....

Greetings!

I have been waiting for you since to contact me for your Confirmable Bank Draft of $2,000,000.00(Two Million United State Dollars, but I did not hear from  you since that time.Then I went and deposited the Draft with ALLIANCE COURIER SERVICE, West Africa, I travelled out of the country for a Month Course and I will not come back till end of January 2011. What you have to do now is to contact the ALLIANCE COURIER SERVICE as  soon as possible to know when they will
deliver your package to you because of the expiring date. For your information,I have paid for the delivering Charge, Insurance  premium and Clearance Certificate Fee of the Cheque showing that it is not a  Drug Money or meant to sponsor Terrorist attack in your Country.

Contact information below:
Contact Person: Mr. Paul Anderson
Email Address: alliancecouriers@fastservice.com

contact them now and know when it will deliver your Bank draft to your address.
Let me repeat again, try to contact them as soon as you receive this mail to avoid any further delay and Please remember to pay them their Security Keeping fee of $550.00 US Dollars for their immediate action.So that they can ship your Cheque of $2,000,000.00 to you in your contact address immdiately.You should also let me know through email as soon as you receive your Draft.

Provide him with the following information to claim your prize

1.Full Name:
2.Residence address:
3.Phone Number:
4.Country:
5.Nationality:
6.Sex:
7.Age:
8.Occupation:
       
Yours Truly,
Mr Wilson Collins
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Too good to be true, isn't it...??  

Please keep on sharing your comments and similar fraud mails and scams; so that our efforts can save the internet users from any kind of cyber victimization.

UK Police Penalizing The Drivers With Snow on The Car Roof - - Reality of The Message Spreading Widely on The Internet

Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Summary:

A rapidly spreading message on the different social networks, especially, Facebook warns drivers in the UK that police will be stopping drivers with snow on the roof of their cars and issuing them with a fixed penalty consisting of a £60 fine and the loss of three points.

The reality of the message can be summarized in one word "HOAX". While drivers may be penalized if snow on the roof of their vehicles obscures their vision or is a potential danger to other motorists, the specific police campaign and fixed penalties suggested in the message are not about to take place and have been denied by police.

Message looks like the shown below:

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 UK - Please forward to others - police will be stopping people from tomorrow who are driving with snow on the roof of their car and will issue fixed penalty of £60 + 3 points!!

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 Beware! It's a Cyber World - - Explanation:

This message, which first began circulating as a phone text message and has now migrated to email, Facebook and other online networks, warns UK based motorists that "from tomorrow", police will be pulling over drivers with snow on the roof of their vehicles and issuing immediate penalties of £60 fines and the loss of three licence points. The message asks recipients to send on the warning to others as a means of alerting people about the supposed police campaign.

However the claims in the message are untrue. The bogus warning apparently began life as mobile phone text messages, some of which purported to be from the Humberside Police in the UK. However, Humberside Police have denied sending any such text message, noting in a statement on its website:

ISSUED 1400HRS 01 DECEMBER
BOGUS TEXT MESSAGE

The Force has been made aware of bogus text messages being sent to people in the region. Roads Policing Inspector Graham Johnstone has made several radio appearances to give both driving guidance and to squash this rumour. The text messages claim to have been sent by Humberside Police and relate to the prosecution of drivers with excessive snow on their roofs. The Force has not sent this text message out and it is not the sort of text message the force would send.

Moreover, there are no credible news reports that confirm that police in the UK are about to launch such a road safety campaign. In fact, according to news reports, the Road Policing Unit in the UK advises that there is no specific legislation on driving with snow on the roof of a vehicle.

Like many such messages, the "warning" does not specify a date other than the vague reference to "tomorrow", thus ensuring that it never becomes outdated and may therefore continue to circulate for months or years to come. In such cases, "tomorrow" never comes. Thus, the message is nothing more than another foolish hoax that serves only to spread misinformation and clutter inboxes and social networks with even more pointless nonsense.

It should be noted however, that while there is no specific legislation about driving a vehicle with snow on the roof, drivers could certainly be penalized if this snow obscured their vision or was a potential danger to other motorists. The Humberside Police statement quoted above also notes:

However we urge all drivers to drive with care and ensure their vehicle is roadworthy before setting out.

If there is an excessive amount of snow on a vehicle's roof it could cause visibility problems if it shifts down over the windscreen of the vehicle or cause problems to other road users if it lands on their vehicle. Such a vehicle could be classed as being in a dangerous condition.

And a December 2010 STV news article notes:

The Road Policing Unit said that there is no specific legislation on driving with snow on the roof of a vehicle, however if it slips over the windscreen, or flies into the path of another car, it could leave the driver open to being penalised for driving without due consideration, dangerous driving, not being in proper control of the vehicle, not having a full view ahead and windows not being sufficiently clean.

Thus, while the "warning" is a hoax, it is nonetheless advisable for motorists to ensure that excessive snow is removed from the roof of vehicles before setting out. Police in the UK have regularly advised motorists to remove snow from vehicle roofs before setting out, especially in severe or challenging weather. Failure to do so could compromise road safety and drivers could indeed be penalized. However, these facts do not, in any way, legitimize the false claims in this hoax message.

YAHOO ALERT: YAHOO! ACCOUNT INFO - - Scam Mail From Yahoo! Member Services to Steal Your Personal Information

Beware! It's a Cyber World:

Dear readers, beware of following YAHOO ALERT mail that can hit your inbox also or might be already there in your spam box. This is clearly an effort to steal your private information. Don't respond at all to the mail coming from boumairam@yahoo.com.

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From: Yahoo! Member Services (boumairam@yahoo.com)
To: yahoo-account-services-us@cc.yahoo-inc.com
Sent: Wed, December 1, 2010 10:17:13 AM
Subject: YAHOO ALERT

This is an official alert to inform you that we are currently upgrading our system database so we are going through deactivation of all unused account and some of our accounts both premium and free accounts. In order to avoid deactivation of your account and continue enjoying Yahoo! service, you will have to update your account by filling the requested information so as to keep your account up to date and will certify that your account is used frequently.   To ensure that your account information remains accurate and secure we notify you whenever this information changes. NOTE: Every account owner that receives this message has encountered the account error and will have to update his/her account with the requested information below. Please be sure to click the REPLY button first before attempting to fill the info. Name: ..................................... ID: ........................................... Account Pass word: .................. Date of Update: ......................... Country: ................................... After you must have filled this information and have it sent back to us, your Yahoo! account will not be interupted/terminated and will continue as normal. WARNING: Account owner that receives this message and refuses to update his/her account will be terminated from the Administrator's dept. This change request was made on 30 November 2010. If the information described above are filled in accurate, no further action is needed. Thank you for your usual co-operation. We apologize for any inconvenience. Regards, Yahoo! Account Services ********************************************************  ==============================================   Please keep on sharing your comments and similar fraud mails and scams; so that our efforts can save the internet users from any kind of cyber victimization.