A New Banking Scam

Dear and Faithful Readers,

Madame L wants to remind you to continue to be careful about opening any e-mail messages that come from a source you don't recognize and about clicking on links in e-mail messages.

This article from last month, from Bankrate.com, explains the risks and what you can do to protect yourself from e-mail scammers who want to steal your money and compromise your identifying information. 

The article lists these steps to take to keep from becoming a victim of this crime:

• Keep your computer and mobile device updated with the newest versions of anti-virus software.
• If you have any doubts about an email sender's authenticity, do not click on any embedded links.
• Remember, banks never request any personal information via email.
• Be vigilant about checking your account balances. The sooner you notice and report any type of fraudulent activity, the more likely you'll be able to be reimbursed for any missing funds.

Remember especially the third item from that list: Your bank will never send you an e-mail in which it requests your personal information.

Madame L is writing about this now because she has recently been receiving e-mail messages that are supposedly from her bank, asking for her to "verify" something. Madame L has to remind herself that the bank doesn't need her to verify anything by e-mail.

Best,

Madame L