Recently I have received a lot of emails from various Banks - Bank of America, Central Bank and Empire Bank (I do not use any of them) all asking me to confirm my information for online banking??? Then today I got an email from Central Bank again and this time they told me that "Your Profile has been locked" because you did not confirm your account details! Has anyone else experienced such an obvious scam? I reported the one to Bank of America - no reply - seems they do not care either!
2007-12-21 14:34:22 · 17 answers · asked by CJ 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Senior Citizens
It's called "Pfishing" (pronounced the same as "fishing"). It's an attempt to have you provide them with personal information like social security number, bank account number and the like. Most banks are aware of these schemes and they get a lot of them e-mailed to them by folks who get them in their e-mail.
No reputable bank would ever use e-mail to notify one of their clients that there is an account problem. So, whoever sent the last e-mail to you has not "locked your profile".
I just ignore them. You might want to do so also.
2007-12-21 14:41:53 · answer #1 · answered by desertviking_00 7 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Most banks send regular emails to their customers warning of scams, and telling them how to recognize legitimate messages from them. It's quite possible the Bank of America has already known of this scam for a while, but since you don't have an account there, they wouldn't have sent you any email warnings (obviously).
You're doing a good thing by contacting the banks in question and letting them know of the scams, but I wouldn't be too concerned if they didn't send you anything back.
2007-12-21 22:39:34 · answer #2 · answered by SuperN 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason we're seniors is somehow tied up in the fact we've been around the star a few dozen times. We're supposed to have learned a few things from what we observed.
One of those things we ought to have learned is to recognize obvious falsehood.
I really get bored seeing references to how this or that scam preys on senior citizens. Patronizing, condescending, and assumes we've lost in smart with the years and are bigger fools than if we were 30 or so.
Just a lot of silly young people trying to feel good about themselves who can't find legitimate reasons for doing so.
2007-12-22 00:17:03 · answer #3 · answered by Jack P 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
ALL the time...particularly from paypal...I just ignore them and report them to Yahoo as spam.
Re: being an obvious scam - DUH? You'd think so, wouldn't you? - yet people continue to 'trust' the internet like it is the last word, not realizing that ANYONE can put ANYTHING on the internet. I even received an email supposedly from my OWN bank...which natch I did not answer as my bank had already notified us by mail AND on their official site that they were investigating these email scams.
2007-12-23 14:57:21 · answer #4 · answered by sage seeker 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A few years ago I received an email supposedly from PayPal wanting up to update information. I immediately emailed PayPal to notify them about this obvious scam. They were very fast with a reply that this request was not from them. I guess con artists think everyone is stupid.
2007-12-22 01:06:05 · answer #5 · answered by mydearsie 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i get them too one was a "Microsoft lottery and told me i won 5 million dollars. all scams, they come up with so many ways to fool us. i learned when i was a kid, if you win something you do not have to pay to get the winnings. plus how could i win money when i did not enter the contest.. alot of people are fooled, not only seniors, they play on ones greed and take your money, last week i got a email on my account and told me i have to give my name, address, date of birth and other personal information or my email account would be closed. things like this makes people give out information that they should not give out. i ignored it and still have my account... just giving your name and date of birth address scammers can apply for credit in your name and rob you of everything you have..............i am saving these scam emails for future proof of the scams i am pressured with. do not fall for it, if your bank needs information about you they will ask you to come to the bank and discuss needed information , so it is safe...
2007-12-22 00:57:34 · answer #6 · answered by walterknowsall 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Got them all the time and that is why bulk is deleted immediately now. I got one from a marine yesterday saying he had found all this money of Osamas and needed a contact in the USA to bring the money over here. Yeah right. haha
2007-12-21 22:41:53 · answer #7 · answered by Aloha_Ann 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have Yahoo mail and I have
never gotten any junk or bulk
mail. I have gotten a few spams but after I notified
Yahoo, I never received any
more. This is one thing that
Yahoo has done right.
2007-12-23 23:02:08 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They very well may be bogus. Best thing you can do is Spam everything. All it takes is allowing your email address to go to just one place that lets it leak and you will receive all kind of mail . It's basically impossible to completly beat. Let me know if you get anything to stop it.
2007-12-21 22:43:16 · answer #9 · answered by Eileen B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not yet, but I am sure I'm worth billion of dollars now. I keep winning lottery after lottery. Gee! I didn't even have to enter. Does anyone really fall for these anymore?
2007-12-21 22:49:44 · answer #10 · answered by curious connie 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋