FBI: Uptick in Spear Phishing Scams Posted by AVCU on 10:47 AM

The FBI is warning that it has "seen a significant increase in fraud involving the exploitation of valid online banking credentials belonging to small and medium businesses, municipal governments, and school districts" in recent months. Potential victims of this type of fraud receive a so-called "spear phishing" e-mail containing an infected attachment or link that sends the e-mail recipient to a website where malware containing a keylogger program is installed on the victim's computer. The keylogger program, installed and operating in the background, tracks keystrokes, which are used to steal from the victim via fund transfers or to create additional accounts in the victim's name. The transferred funds are diverted into bank accounts of unsuspecting individuals recruited to serve as payment processors through work-at-home advertisements or job search websites. These unwitting individuals transfer the money that arrives in their accounts to overseas locales through a wire transfer service. The FBI advises consumers doing banking online to contact their financial institution to ensure they are employing all appropriate security and fraud prevention services their institution offers.