A few of my colleagues received a legitimate-looking e-mail this morning from Citibank, with the subject line "Failed Login Attempts." One colleague found it pretty convincing, but another knew it was a fake because she doesn't have a Citibank account.
The e-mail says the recipient has three failed login attempts and should login to his or her account immediately, with the word "your account" linked. Don't click on the link.
Recently, I warned you about another e-mail scam. That one tells recipients that their bank has failed and directs them to a fraudulent site.
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Never click on any link sent to you in an e-mail, no matter how convincing the message. Once you click on the link, you could have a difficult time telling if the site is authentic or a scam. (Not to mention that doing so will also signal the sender that your e-mail address is active, which could spawn more spam.)
Instead, verify requests for personal information. If an e-mail looks like it is from your bank, for example, use the Web address you usually use to access your account and confirm the request through the site's "Contact Us" link.
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