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By silicon.com, 19 December 2003 09:50

NEWS An email purporting to be an advisory from Australian bank Westpac to its customers about the dangers of online fraud is itself fraudulent, a spokeswoman confirmed today.

The email, headlined 'Online Banking: Protect Yourself from Internet Fraud', purports to come from the address validate@westpac.com.au and includes a link to a website below the message: "As part of our ongoing commitment to provide the 'Best Possible' service to all our Members, we are now requiring each member to validate their accounts once per month."

However, a Westpac spokeswoman stressed that the email did not come from the bank and reiterated a warning that the only way to visit Westpac internet banking was by typing www.westpac.com.au into a browser.

"We will never send out emails of this type," the spokeswoman said.

Despite the email itself outlining two examples of common internet scams - the first an attempt to steal a customer's login details by sending out emails which appear to be from a financial institution and requesting personal details and the second involving creation of a 'ghost website' which captures customer details and uses them to transact using the customer's account - it also includes a number of indicators of its fraudulent nature. These include suspect grammar, font variations and the link to a website requiring a customer to input their account details, including passwords.

The spokeswoman said criminals involved in such scams were becoming more and more sophisticated.

Iain Ferguson writes for ZDNet Australia.