BANK OF AMERICA FRAUDULENT E-MAILS

My Dad just recieved a spam e-mail,this is the second time that someone wants him to "Update his user name and password" This e-mail claims to be from the Bank of America.Thing is he doesn't have and never did have an account there.

One of the most common types of email fraud is the practice of sending a phony email message, which is sometimes referred to as "phishing." Such phony emails are disguised as legitimate, and often include company logos that look real.

But they're actually from criminals who send thousands of emails at a time to random addresses. These criminals are trying to entice you to visit a phony website and provide personal and confidential information, such as online IDs and passcodes, or Social Security numbers and account numbers. Although the site may look like a bank's, it is not - which is why this practice is known as "spoofing."

The Account Manager or Money Transfer Agent is one of the newest scams. An email or an advertisement on the web tries to recruit you to be an account manager or transfer agent for a fictitious company. These scam artists steal money from an unsuspecting person's account and transfer the money into your account. Then the criminals ask you to send the money to them. The lure is that you get to keep a percentage of the money as your "commission." This opens your personal holdings to fraud - and, if your account is used in an online scheme, you can be liable for lost funds.

Spotting phony email messages is not always easy. Sometimes, they may ask you to reply directly, or provide a link that takes you to a website that appears legitimate but is not. In either case, these phony email messages generally ask you to provide sensitive personal, financial, or account information.DON'T DO IT!

Many fraudulent e-mail messages provide their own clues that they are phony. Misspelled words, urgent appeals and unfamiliar return addresses are all symptoms of a fraudulent e-mail.

You should also be aware, however, that the criminals who use these techniques to gain access to your accounts or personal information have become increasingly sophisticated and refined.Even if you don't see any obvious signs that an e-mail message is fraudulent, but you suspect it could be fraudulent, contact your bank.