A bad scam that looks honest

I hate scams

I never had an account with Wachovia Bank, but I received an important email notice from Wachovia just before Thanksgiving 2007.

I found it it funny that since I don't Bank with Wachovia, that I would get an email from them.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Yep, it's a scam".

I love to dissect the scams that target me, so I can show you what to look in a scam. So I numbered the things that scream scam in this email (click image above for a full view) . I'll explain each scam point one by one.

1. Importance

I've got to hand it to them for using the headline of "Important Notice". That statement caught my attention. The average person (like me) only gives an email five seconds attention. After that, they ignore the email until they delete it. Only the most important emails get peoples attention. Emails from loved ones, friends and important business matters.

This scam attempts to use a valid business reason to establish it's importance. If I was a Wachovia Customer, I might think this email could be legit.

2. Credibility

Next they use the Wachovia logo to establish credibility. I actually had to go to the Wachovia site and check and yep, it's the real thing. But here's the catch, anyone can copy a logo from the web. Nonetheless, it's a dirty trick to use the Wachovia logo to build credibility.

3. Valid business reason

Of course, a scam artist would say to themselves "What is a good reason for people to click on a link"? This is where the reason has to be a valid one. The scam artist claims that Wachovia is switching to "new transaction security standards".

4. They "kindly ask"

Awe, isn't that nice? They kindly ask if you will update your information. The scam artist thinks that by asking you nicely, you will give up your banking information so that they can bleed your account dry.

What do you do when you get an email like this?

When in doubt, always call the number on your bank statements that your bank mails you, to confirm any information that you are doubtful of. Or you can call the 800 number on the back of your ATM card.

Never share your personal information in an email.

Mark the email as spam. Marking an email as spam tells your email service to shut the scam down. You'll be helping yourself and others.