This article from NetworkWorld.com highlights 9 classic but clever ways we should all be alert to.  We urge you to remind friends, family members and coworkers to not fall for these scams.

Note: links to third party sites are provided for your convenience only. Bank of Ann Arbor does not control their content.

Bank of Ann Arbor is aware of a text message phishing scam that may lead you to believe your Debit/ATM card has been deactivated. Please know that we do not send unsolicited text message alerts. The most recent phishing scam is tricky in that it requests you to call a phone number to activate your card and the phone number noted has a 734 exchange leading you to believe it is local. If you believe you are a victim of this scam, in that you have called the number and entered your card information please call 1-800-528-2273 and request that your card be cancelled.

Be wary of those who come bearing gifts. The most recent credit card scam works like this:

A phone call from someone who says that he is from some outfit called: "Express Couriers" asking if someone was going to be home because there is a package, and the caller says that the delivery would arrive at your home in roughly an hour. And sure enough, about an hour later, a delivery man turns up with a beautiful basket of flowers and wine. What a surprise for you (especially if there is no special occasion or holiday), and no-one certainly expects anything like that! Intrigued you ask who the sender is. The deliveryman's reply was, he is only delivering the gift package, but allegedly a card is being sent separately; (the card never arrives). There is also an official looking ‘consignment’ note with the gift. He now goes on to explain that because the gift contains alcohol, there is a $3.50 ‘delivery charge’ as proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult, and not just left it on the doorstep to just be stolen or taken by anyone. Sounds logical doesn’t it? You offer to pay cash but he tells you that the company requires the payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that no ‘cash’ is exchanged and everything is properly accounted for. You take out your (or your husbands) credit/debit card and the "delivery man" asks you to swipe the card on the small mobile card machine which has a small screen and keypad where you now enter the card's PIN and security number. A receipt is printed out and given to you. 

Next week you will find that money has been charged/withdrawn from your credit/debit account at various ATM machines all over the country. It appears that the "mobile credit card machine" which the deliveryman carried now has all the info necessary to create a "dummy" card with all your card details, after you have swiped the card and entered the requested PIN and security number. 

Please be aware of this most recent scam and share this information with your family, friends, and neighbors. Any suspect description or suspect vehicle information should be reported to your local police agency.

Our website will experience a brief period of outage beginning at midnight December 24 through 2am December 25 as our server undergoes regularly scheduled maintenance that will help us continue to provide you with the best service possible.

During this time, you will not be able to access www.boaa.com or www.bankofannarbor.com, but you can access your accounts directly through the links below.  Please copy and paste them somewhere convenient so that you can still access your account information during this short down time:

Personal Banking:

https://web6.secureinternetbank.com/pbi_pbi1961/pbi1961.ashx?Rt=072413735&LogOnBy=connect3&PRMACCESS=Account

Business Banking:

https://web6.secureinternetbank.com/ebc_ebc1961/ebc1961.ashx?wci=process&wce=request&rid=3000&rtn=072413735&rt=072413735&mfa=2

Please contact us at 734-662-1600 if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you for your patience.

Strong, hard-to-guess passwords are essential to safely accessing your accounts, whether Online Banking or your favorite shopping site.  You may have used the same passwords for years without thinking about the real protection they are giving your accounts.

This password tester from Microsoft provides a quick check to see if the passwords you use are sophisticated (or strong) enough to thwart potential hackers.  While having a strong password won't guarantee protection, it's good to understand how to create strong passwords.

This third party link is provided for your convenience and information. Bank of Ann Arbor does not endorse or sponsor this information and is not responsible for its content.

The malware is appropriately called “Gameover” because once it’s on your computer, it can steal usernames and passwords and defeat common methods of user authentication employed by financial institutions. And once the crooks get into your bank account, it’s definitely “game over.”

How the scheme works: Typically, you receive an unsolicited e-mail from NACHA, the Federal Reserve, or the FDIC telling you that there’s a problem with your bank account or a recent ACH transaction. (ACH stands for Automated Clearing House, a network for a wide variety of financial transactions in the U.S.) The sender has included a link in the e-mail for you that will supposedly help you resolve whatever the issue is. Unfortunately, the link goes to a phony website, and once you’re there, you inadvertently download the Gameover malware, which promptly infects your computer and steals your banking information.

Read this story to learn more about the Gameover malware scam.

Please contact us at (734)662-1600 if you think you may have fallen victim to this scheme.

(Note: link is to third party site, www.fbi.gov. Bank of Ann Arbor does not control and is not responsible information on this site. This link is provided as a convenience.)

Please beware of the following scam email in circulation which claims to be from the FDIC. The email contains a dangerous link. If you are ever unsure of an email, please give us a call at 734-662-1600.

Subject of the email: Each depositor insured to at least $250,000 per insured bank

Content of email message:
Dear Sirs,
Due to the adoption of a new security system, that is aimed at diminishing the number of cases of fraud and scams, all your ACH and WIRE transactions will be blocked until you update your security version in compliance with our new requirements.. In order to re-establish the full functioning of your account, we urgently prompt you to install a special security software. Please open the link below --------- to read the instructions and download all the necessary files.

We apologize for causing you inconveniences by this measure.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you experience any problems.

Yours truly,

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Security Department

Here are some of the latest fraudulent attempts to get malware on your computer or reveal personal information.  The perpetrators can be quite careful to make their emails look authentic to lure you in to taking some action.  Be immediately suspicious of unsolicited emails asking you to click on a link to get a report, statement, or other document. 

 Notice from Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stating that a case is closed and reports accessed via a link.

Warning that the Federal government is considering a 1% tax on all banking transactions.  The information is misleading (yes, a bill was introduced but is extremely unlikely to even get out of committee) and the email often contains a link that could put malware on your computer.

When you get an email that seems out of the norm, that is unsolicited or contains unfamiliar links,  we recommend that you:

• Delete it immediately
• Never open it
• Never click on its links
• Never open its attachments
• Never reply or forward it

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from the FDIC and contain an infected attachment.

The fraudulent e-mails have addresses such as "no.reply@fdic.gov" or "notify84zma@fdic.gov" on the "From" line. The message appears, with spelling and grammatical errors, as follows:

Subject line: "FDIC notification"

Message body:

"Dear customer,
Your account ACH and WIRE transaction have been temporarily suspended for security reasons due to the expiration of your security version. To download and install the newest installations read the document(pdf) attached below.

As soon as it is setup, you transaction abilities will be fully restored.

Best Regards, Online Security departament, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation."

The e-mails contain an attachment "FDIC_document.zip" that will likely release malicious software if opened. These e-mails and attachments are fraudulent and were not sent by the FDIC. Recipients should consider these e-mails an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users' computers. Recipients should NOT open the attachment.

Financial institutions and consumers should be aware that these fraudulent e-mails may be modified over time with other subject lines, sender names, and narratives. The FDIC does not directly contact consumers, nor does the FDIC request bank customers to install software upgrades.

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents, and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 3501 North Fairfax Drive, CH-11034, Arlington, Virginia 22226, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Questions related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2011/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

In light of the damage caused by Hurricane Irene, we remind you to beware of fraudulent emails and websites purporting to conduct charitable relief efforts. To learn more about avoiding online fraud, please see "Tips on Avoiding Fraudulent Charitable Contribution Schemes".