COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT
August 10, 2006
Scam alert.
The scam artists on the internet are getting very innovative and many people are getting stung. Since the last union meeting I have personally come across several scams that were directed to me. The scam artists are trying to get personal information from you any way that they can.
Scam 1
Dear Valued PayPal Member,
During our regularly schedule account maintenance and verification we have
detected a slight error in your billing information on file with PayPal.
This might be due to either following reasons:
- A recent change in your personal information
(i.e. change of address)
- An inability to accurately verify your
selected option of payment due an internal error within our processors.
Therefore your account has been temporarily suspended. We need you to confirm
your identity in order to regain full privileges of your account.
However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension.
If this is not completed by July 20, 2006,
we reserve the right to terminate all privileges of your account indefinitly, as
it may have been used for fraudulent purposes. We thank you for your cooperation
in this manner.
To confirm your identity please follow the link below:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run
Thank you for your patience in this matter.
PayPal - Customer Service
Please do not reply to this e-mail as this is only a notification. Mail sent to
this address cannot be answered.
SCAM 2
Dear GM Cardmember,
We value your trust, and we understand that handling your financial information
with care
is our most important responsibility. So, only those who provide the products or
services
you might need are authorized to have access to your financial information.
We have a strict code of ethics for all associates that requires confidential
treatment
of your information. Any associates with access to information must complete
privacy and
information security awareness training annually. HSBC Bank also maintains
physical,
electronic and procedural safeguards to protect against unauthorized access to
customer
information.
We operate under a detailed, rigorous information security policy designed to
protect the
security and confidentiality of your information. The information security
program is
also subject to ongoing regulatory oversight and examination. In compliance with
the
< BR> program we are performing a regular update on every
account enrolled with us to eliminate
the possibility of money-laundering through one-day accounts. In order to
confirm your
account and to preserve the account stability, you are required to login to your
account
using the following link below:
https://www.householdaccount.com/gm/CustomerCare?cmd_DisplayLogin=
Providing you with the state-of-the-art and most convenient services is one of
our most
important responsibilities.
However, in case your account is not registered in the Form before 30.08.06, it
will be
automatically suspended for further in-depth check. This procedure is valid both
for
individual and corporate clients. This procedure is performed one time only and
it does
not require further actions on the customer side.
Sorry for the inconveniences caused by this message.
Looking forward to your understanding and full support.
Sincerely,
Cardmember Services
HSBC Bank Nevada, N.A.
SCAM 3
A bank sends you an e-mail that claims that they are doing a scheduled software upgrade to improve the quality of the banking service and asks you to click on a link to update your information.
Scam 4
This one is really lowdown and was tried on my daughter. My daughter advertised a site petfinder.com on the internet looking for a good home for her dog that she was giving away. Someone from Canada claimed to be very interested in the dog and several e-mails were sent back and forth. The man claimed to have a lot of money and was going to send someone to pick up the dog. He insisted on paying something for the free dog. My daughter received a check for $3,000 and was asked to cash the check and keep $50 for the dog and send the other $2,950 to an account in California. Fortunately She did not bite on it.
Things to look for in a scam.
Anyone wishing to give you a large sum of money or an overpayment and have you cash the check or money order and send it on to another account. Can you spell Bounce?
Any financial institution or internet account sending an e-mail requesting an update on your account. They may or may not claim that they have already or will suspend your account in a few days if the account is not updated. Legitimate companies do not ask for verification of passwords or other personal information for software upgrades.
Here is one I personally noticed. I have a Pay Pal account for E-Bay and received Scam #1. The tip-off was that the e-mail address that they sent the e-mail to was not the e-mail that I use for Pay Pal.
I was easily tipped off by Scam #2 because I do not have a GM credit card.
Pay Pal and many other companies have a scam reporting address to send scams to so that they can shut down the sites and hopefully catch and prosecute those who are running the scams.
Never give out any personal information over the internet.
Never accept overpayment for anything.
Never pay for free money.
Always make sure the check or money order clears and you have written verification before turning over an item you have sold.
If a deal sounds too good to be true…It is.
Karl Hamilton
Communications Committee Chairman
UAW Local 730 Webmaster