UPDATE YOUR ABL (Allied Bank Limited) ONLINE ACCESS -- Keywords: ABL Direct Internet Banking, Bob Hannon, Stone Hill College

NO SPAM, PLEASE --  Allied Bank Limited UPDATE YOUR ABL ONLINE ACCESS

The following spam mail received today in my inbox purportedly from Allied Bank Limited, Pakistan (ABL); requiring the recipients to update ABL Online Access because ABL Online Security System has blocked the users' IP.

The mail was a suspicious one because I've never dealt with ABL; therefore, I started to investigate the whereabouts of this mail and intentions of senders (or best to call them spammers/scammers).
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From: Allied Bank Limited (bhannon@stonehill.edu)
To:
Sent: Tuesday, 22 January 2013 7:59 AM
Subject: UPDATE YOUR ABL ONLINE ACCESS:

Dear Customer,

Your IP is temporarily Blocked by ABL Online Security System.

CLICK HERE TO UPDATE YOUR ABL ONLINE ACCESS

Allied Bank Limited (ABL).

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EXPLANATION: 

Following are the findings of my research about this mail:

• The link given in this mail (http://www.ax3multimedia.com/img/pk.php) leads to a fake look-alike website of ABL Direct Internet Banking, screenshots of original and fake websites are shown below:

Allied Direct Internet Banking - Fake/Look-alike website (click to enlarge)

Allied Direct Internet Banking - Original website (click to enlarge)

The differences are quite significant, specifically the URL.

• The sender's email address (bhannon@stonehill.edu) used in this is also looks like a hacked one. The email ID belongs to Bob Hannon from Stone Hill College, which is a selective Catholic college located near Boston on a beautiful 375-acre campus in Easton, Massachusetts.

CONCLUSION: 

This is an effort from cyber-criminals to get the confidential/log-in information of recipients to use the same for their to steal the money using Allied Bank Online Services.

ADVICE: 

Don't respond to such mails, at all.

Phishing Scam: Last Warning!!! Update and Secure your Yahoo! Account

 NO SPAM, PLEASE -- Last Warning!!! Update and Secure your Yahoo! Account

Such kind of spam mails are spreading around the web for quite a while and the spammers tried new and improved ways to foll the recipients to get their personal information, which can be used to damage the recipients financially and morally.

The link provided in such mails normally lead the recipients to fake look-a-like Yahoo! login page. In this case the following page appears, once the given link is followed:

Phishing Scam: Last Warning!!! Update and Secure your Yahoo! Account

The contents from recent mail are given below:
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From: Yahoo! Account Service (mail.verify@email.yahoo-inc.com)
To:
Sent: Tuesday, 8 May 2012 2:02 PM
Subject: Last Warning!!!

 Dear Valued Customer,

This verification process will only take a few seconds,we will notify you whenever this information changes.

Click Here To Update And Secure Your Account

Sincerely,
Yahoo Account Department

Yahoo© 2012 Yahoo Corporation. All rights reserved

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Yahoo! Upgrade and Account Verification -- Keywords: Angela Paterson

NO SPAM, PLEASE -- Yahoo! Upgrade and Account Verification

An account verification notice as part of regular phishing scam from internet fraudsters received today apparently from Yahoo! team. There's no name of sender is given but the email accounts shows that it is someone Angela Paterson who sent this mail on behalf of Yahoo! Mail Online Services 2011.

The sender is asking to provide all details of my Yahoo! account including Username and Password; so that they can revalidate my account. Ridiculous, once any recipient would reply them with this info he would regret for rest of his/her life.

Contents of the mail are given below: 

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From: Yahoo! Mial Online Services 2011 © (angela_paterson@btinternet.com)
To:
Sent: Wednesday, 30 November 2011 5:11 PM
Subject: Account verification

Yahooo! Upgrade   This message is from Yahooo Administrator IT Services to all our Yahooo subscribers. You are to provide to us the below information to revalidate your E-mail due to spam and to upgrade the new 2011/2012 antispam and antivirus version. Please Confirm That your Yahooo E-mail is still active by filling out your login info below after clicking the reply button, or your E-mail will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.   User-name:- ........................ Password:-....................... Date of Birth:-................... Country:-........................ Current resident:-............... Sex:- .........................   After updating your E-mail informations,Your Yahooo will not be interrupted and will be Upgraded with the new Antispam and Antivirus for 100% E-mail protection.Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconvenience. Warning!!! owners that refuses to update his or her E-mail will lose his or her account permanently.   Copyright/IP Policy | Terms of Services =======================================================

Final Warning!!! Yahoo Account Update Notification -- Keywords: Phishing Site, High Speed internet Team

NO SPAM, PLEASE -- Final Warning!!! Yahoo Account Update Notification

A final warning notification received through mail, apparently from Yahoo's High Speed internet Team, providing a link to update the Yahoo! account information. When I clicked the link provided in mail; I received a message "Warning: Suspected phishing site!". Screen shot is given below:

Warning: Suspected phishing site! (Click to enlarge)

The message reads like this ....

Warning: Suspected phishing site!

The website at www.biharonnet.com has been reported as a “phishing” site. Phishing sites trick users into disclosing personal or financial information, often by pretending to represent trusted institutions, such as banks.

The contents of the mail are given below:
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From: "yahoo--account---services-ca@cc.yahoo-inc.com" (no-reply@cc.yahoo-inc.com)
To:
Sent: Sunday, 27 November 2011 10:28 PM
Subject: Final Warning!!!

Dear Yahoo! Customer, 

This is an important message regarding your Yahoo! email account. We are upgrading our database system due to dormant use of Yahoo! account, to ensure better services. In order to avoid deactivation of your account you would have to confirm your e-mail Click Here to confirm your account is active. Please contact us within 14 days from the date on this email to avoid suspension of your email account. 
If the action above is not completed, your Yahoo! email account will be suspended in 14 days from the date on this email and then deleted in 60 days (including all e-mails within the account).

Deadline:
Again, we ask that you confirm this email to help ensure continued access to your Yahoo! email account.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Thank you for being a valued Yahoo! customer.

Sincerely,

Yahoo! High Speed internet Team

This is a service-related email. Yahoo! will occasionally send you service-related emails to inform you of service upgrades or new benefits to your Yahoo! High-Speed Internet service.

Copyright 2011. Yahoo!. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Yahoo! respects your privacy.

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Online Banking Alert! Security Update Notification From Bank of America

NO SPAM, PLEASE -- Security Update Notification From Bank of America

A security update notification apparently from Bank of America informing about the freezing of my online bank account with Bank of America due to attempts from different computers to log-in to my account and then providing a link to restore the bank account, which otherwise can be suspended indefinitely.

When I tried to use the link provided, it lead me to following:

This is surely an attempt to trap recipients for their account IDs and passwords to be used by internet fraudsters in their bad intentions. 

You know, what makes me suspicious ........ I DON'T HAVE ANY BANK ACCOUNT WITH BANK OF AMERICA.

The mail contents are given below:

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rom: Bank of America Alert (onlinebanking@bankofamerica.com)
To:
Sent: Thursday, 20 November 2011 7:08 AM
Subject: Security Update Notification

Online Banking Alert Security Update  Notification Security Checkpoint: You last signed in to Online Banking on 14/11/2011. Dear Bank Of America customer, We recently have determined that different computers have logged in your Bank of America Online Banking account, and multiple password failures were present before the logons. We now need you to re-confirm your account information to us. If this is not completed by ,25, 11, 2011, we will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely. To restore your account, please Sign in to Online Banking.   Like to get more Alerts? Sign in to your Online Banking account at Bank of America and within the Accounts Overview page select the Alerts tab. Security Checkpoint: This email includes a Security Checkpoint. The information in this section lets you know this is an authentic communication from Bank of America. Remember to look for your SiteKey every time you sign in to Online Banking. Email Preferences This is a service email from Bank of America. Please note that you may receive service email in accordance with your Bank of America service agreements, whether or not you elect to receive promotional email. Contact us about this email Please do not reply to this email with sensitive information, such as an account number, PIN, password, or Online ID. The security and confidentiality of your personal information is important to us. If you have any questions, please either call the phone number on your account statement or use the Contact Us page, so we can properly verify your identity. Privacy and Security Keeping your financial information secure is one of our most important responsibilities. For an explanation of how we manage customer information, please read our Privacy Policy. You can also learn how Bank of America keeps your personal information secure and how you can help protect yourself. Bank of America Email, 8th Floor-NC1-002-08-25, 101 South Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28255-0001 Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender  © 2011 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. AR72768/DD6A66 ===================================================================