Like everyone else, I get lots of Phishing attacks to my email address including many claiming to be from banks or credit cards. Today’s was a bit different. It came in claiming to be about Survey 0676 from the Bank of Montreal.
What Did the Hacker’s Fraudulent Email Claiming to be from BMO Say?
Instead of the usual request to verify my account information, this email said it was a customer satisfaction and planning survey. It said I would receive $50 deposited to my account if it filled it in. It said to open the attachment to fill out the survey.
There was no BMO logo or special formatting.
Why Do I Know It Was a Fraud?
I knew right away this was a fraud or a virus attack because BMO NEVER gives money for doing a survey. Instead, they put your name into a draw and if you are the lucky one out of thousands of respondents you might get $50. In other words, they are way, way, way too cheap to be doing a survey this way.
I did not click on the attachment, of course, and I never would. It can cost a fortune to get a virus off your computer.
Please Be CAREFUL and Report This or Similar Phishing Scams to Your Internet Mail Provider
I reported this message as a Phishing scam to my email host. Hopefully they will block others from getting the email.
I’m writing this particular email up because I believe the fraudulent “offer” of $50 is going to catch a lot of people. It’s unusual and all of us like to get a few extra $$ these days and might click before we think.
Related Reading
- What Happened After My Credit Card Was Hacked
- What should you do if you get an automated phone call saying your credit card has been breached?
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