These Folks Just Never Give Up!

Well, I see the crooks are still busy.

I received this little communiqué in the form of an email a few minutes ago.

Dear Customer,

American State Bank carrying out a major system upgrade. This upgrade became necessary following recent security threats. Consequently, in the next few days, you may notice temporary interruption when using online banking to access your account. To experience a smoother and more secure online banking, please update your information in our records. The link below will guide you through the process:http://secure-banking.online.com. Please note that this one time exercise is mandatory for all American State Bank customers. For security reasons, we may suspend your account if your information is not updated.We sincerely regret any inconvenience.

Susan Flinn
Head of Online Banking

My computer, rather intelligently, put this email in the Junk Mail folder. Unfortunately, it’s something a little more sinister than junk mail. It’s a scam, and a nasty one.

Clues? This thing is riddled with them.

First, I know what banks I have accounts at and American State Bank isn’t one of them. (By the way, there's a ASB logo graphic on the original email and it's meaningless. Anyone can swipe such a logo just by copying it off the real bank’s website.)

Then there’s the line about “recent security threats” designed to scare anyone who receives this email into responding immediately. Scammers love to scare people into acting without thinking, so this is boilerplate scam language.

Next, we have the call to update my “information” in their records, so that I can experience “more secure” (another scare phrase) online banking. I don’t do any online banking, (this kind of thing is one of the reasons why) so that’s another red flag. What kind of information do they want me to provide? I'm willing to bet it's exactly the kind they could use to steal my identity.

Then notice the link provided. (I’ve removed a few letters from the link to keep anyone from accidently clicking on it and going to the crook’s website.) The link itself doesn’t even have the “secure” https --note the s--prefix that real financial institutions use. (The use of the word “secure” in the link is meaningless.) I’m tempted to click on this thing—I’m sure this link will take me to a webpage where I’ll be asked for information that a thief could use—but I won’t because the webpage might also be armed with a virus or worm that could end up on my computer.

Finally, it says that going to that link and typing in—what? Name, address, social security number—is mandatory. If I don’t do it, they’ll suspend that fictional account of mine. Another classic scare tactic.

Sorry, Ms. Flinn. Ain’t gonna bite on your hook.

If you receive something like this, neither should you. (If it’s for a bank you actually use, call that bank first.)


P. S. I went to the real American State Bank website, and here’s the first thing you see. The red coloring is theirs.

EMAIL SCAM – URGENT

Some community residents have received an unauthorized email appearing to come from American State Bank. The message encourages readers to click on a link claiming to be secure and provide their bank-on-line password information. If you receive this email, please do not respond or click on the link. It is a fraudulent email and could allow for criminals to obtain your personal financial information. If you have already received this email and provided your personal information, please contact ASB Customer Service immediately at 1-800-531-1401. A representative will help you determine preventative steps such as closing your account, deactivating your debit/credit card and/or changing your Bank-on-line passwords.

Keep A Very Close Eye on Your Credit Card

Some very odd things are starting to happen in the world of credit cards.

It started when I found out that (due to making what I intended to be my February credit card payment too early--yes, too early--it's a long story) I was the grand total of $17 overdue and my credit card was frozen. (I'd also been charged a $39 overdue fee.)

Did I find out about this from the bank? Was I notified of this in my bank statement or by email?

Nope. I've had credit cards for forty years and I've never had my card refused. Today, I had it refused twice, first while trying to make an online payment and then, after that, during a "test" purchase of a soda from a convenience store (I very rarely use my credit card for day to day purchases, preferring to pay cash.)

I tried calling the "Customer Service" number on the back of my credit card, but got nothing but a computer. After trying for ten minutes to get an actual human being on the line, I gave up and headed down to my bank's local branch.

There, I ended up on their phone talking to the bank's national credit card office and discovered that if any holder of one of their cards pays their bill one day past the due date, they will freeze that customer's card.

One day late. In my case, when I was a whole $17 overdue. That is their policy.

First I'd heard of it.

If I wanted my card unfrozen, I was told, I could make a payment at my local branch and my credit card would start working again two days later. If I wanted to cut the wait time to the next morning, there would be a $15 fee.

After listening to my teeth grind, they agreed to waive the fee.

Had other people run into this "one day late and you're toast" policy? I posted this info on a national blog and started reading the comments. Yes, other people had. And that was just the start.

Some of those comments led me to information that is prompting me to give you this warning:
Be very careful to pay your credit card bills on time, read your bill over thoroughly each time it shows up and be ready for unexpected (and possibly unannounced changes on your credit card terms.

If you give these people the slightest reason to hike your rate, cut your limits or charge you any one of a number of fees, they just might do it. Because banks and other lending institutions are now looking for cash where ever they can find it.

For example, here's a story from CreditMattersBlog.com about American Express customers being called and pressured to pay early. That's right. They're not being called because they're overdue, they're being told to pay before their due date. Not asked, told.

On the same blog, there's also a report about AMEX offering certain customers $300 to close their accounts. It's getting very strange in Finance Land when financial institutions are paying people to close accounts.

Watch also for surprise interest-rate hikes, too. 5%, 10%...or even worse, if you pay late even one or two times a year, an APR hike to a "default" rate that could be as high as 30%.

As for your credit limit, I'm hearing of people with $10,000 limits who suddenly find that their limit's been dropped to $1,500. (I hope such people aren't finding this out when they're traveling.)

Some people think that a lot of this is happening now because the Federal government is talking about passing new regulations on credit card issuers, and the issuers are trying to make as much money in interest and fees as they can before this happens. Sounds plausible to me.

So keep your eyes open, and double-check your credit card bills. If your rates are hiked, your credit limit slashed or you start getting pressured to pay early, feel free to shop around for another card.

But be very cautious about closing your current account. Credit rating companies often don't differentiate between accounts closed by card issuer and accounts closed by customers, so completely closing an account can seriously hurt your credit rating. Keep that no-longer-worth-it account open, but keep the credit limit and the balance very low, ...I'd suggest just a few dollars more than the smallest minimum payment. That way you can keep your credit rating high...without being at the mercy of a credit card issuer.

(One last ironic note: my bank is constantly sending me marketing pitches, despite my asking them to quit. After my card was frozen, they sent me such a mailing that said I was eligible to receive a $50,000 loan...."just fill out this simple form!"

Like I say, things are getting very, very nutty in Finance Land.)