An Example of Fraud
Following is the content of a letter I received in email today. Working in a Fraud group, I've heard of things like this, but have never received one. It is hard for me to believe anyone would be dupped by it... but again, working in a Fraud group, I know people are. In the following, I've replaced the company name, etc. just to make sure no one goes to their web site, etc. from this blog!

Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 12:15 AM

To: me@mycompany.com

Subject: Fraud Alert. Foo.com - Order 1845.

Foo.com & Foo.net

______________________________

Dear customer,

Recently we have received an order made by using your personal credit card information.

This order was made online at our official http://foo.com or http://foo.net website. Our Fraud Department has some suspicions regarding this order and we need you to visit a special Fraud Department page at our web store where you can confirm or decline this transaction by providing us with the correct information.

But, if you have never visited our site or made a purchase, you can decline any charges from you credit card, by entering your personal info below. Or, if you feel this method of verification insecure - please visit our highly secure site http://foo.com or http://foo.net

Enter your credit card number here:

Enter your credit card exp date:

Enter your name as it appears on the credit card:

Enter your address, zip code and city:

REMEBER: NEVER give out this kind of information over email or to someone that blindly requests it. Yes, if you are on a web site doing a purchase it is normal to expect it. But if you ever get a call or an email that of the form "This is calling and we need your personal info" you shouldn't reply. You should have your credit card customer support numbers, bank numbers, etc. and you can call them back. You can never really be sure who is on the other end of a phone or email.