WASHINGTON — The FDIC sent out a letter to bank CEOs last week to alert them to fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from the agency.
The e-mails, according to the FDIC, are asking recipients to install unknown software on personal computers. The subject line read: Urgent Notification–Security Reminder. They did not originate from the FDIC.
The fraudulent e-mail describes "a small client utility"–referred to as ProBank–that recipients are asked to install on home and business computers. It claims, "…this utility only starts whenever an online session is opened with a Financial Institution insured by the FDIC, thus it will never interfere with any programs installed on your computer. Please help us combat fraud by installing, ProBank on any computer that is used to open an Online Banking session."
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A hyperlink directs the recipient to the apparently FDIC-related site that has the software. "While the FDIC is working with the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to determine the exact effects of the executable file, recipients should consider the intent of the software as a malicious attempt to collect personal or confidential information, some of which may be used to gain unauthorized access to on-line banking services or to conduct identity theft," the letter read.
The e-mail also asks financial institutions to market the product to employees and customers.
The FDIC is attempting to identify the source of the e-mails and disrupt the transmission. Until this is accomplished, similar attempts should be reported to the FDIC at [email protected].
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