The volume of scams that are perpetrated on the Internet has been growing regularly these past few years. In general, it seems that the worse the economy gets the higher the crime rate.

The Internet has proven to be fertile ground for would-be scam artists hoping to cash in on the naivety of the general public. Below is a screen-shot of just such an attempt.

You should never click on a link that arrives in an unsolicited email message like this. 99% of the time an email like this one is a scam. What to look for:

1. Do you even have an account at the bank or financial institution in the email. Many times, these email messages are sent to a broad distribution list. The scammer doesn't really care if the recipient has an account at the institution in question.
2. An "urgent' appeal to click on a link or loose something - in this case access to your account. Even if you believe the email is legitimate don't click on an embedded link. If you have an online account at the institution mentioned, go to your normal login screen and login that way to check on the status of your account.
3. Sometimes, you can tell from the reply-to email address that it refers to an Internet address that isn't the one your bank or financial institution uses.
4. You can also hover over the link to see where it points. DON'T accidentally click on it! The target Internet address will usually point to somewhere that isn't your bank.

So, please be careful and don't click on links in email messages unless you are absolutely certain they are legitimate...

Response from Chase

I forwarded the email above to Chase Customer Service. Here is their response:

Hello,

Thank you for sending us this e-mail. We have already forwarded it to our fraud department for additional investigation.

Although the e-mail appears to be from Chase, it is not. It has been designed by fraudsters with the intent to trick you into providing private information about yourself and your accounts. This is known as "phishing," and the number of people who fall victim to this scam is unfortunately rising.

It is not our practice to:

• Send e-mail that requires you to enter personal information directly into the e-mail
• Send e-mail threatening to close your account if you do not take the immediate action of providing personal information
• Send e-mail asking you to reply by sending personal information

You should never reply to, click or enter any information if you receive a suspicious e-mail.

We actively investigate each of these attempts and work hard to stop any further unauthorized e-mails from being sent. Although we did not send the e-mail, please know that we regret any inconvenience or concern it may have caused you.

Thank you,

Husein Barot
E-mail Customer Service Representative