ABA warns of e-mail scam

WASHINGTON — The American Bankers Association (ABA) has been alerted that someone or a group of individuals sending e-mails purporting to be from ABA are actually part of a scam commonly known as “phishing.”

These con artists are sending emails asking people to click on a link for more information — a popular technique to get financial information from the email recipient.


Phishing for financial information has been a long-standing practice. However, criminals are increasingly phishing for access to corporate, small business and government accounts and using that access to withdraw large sums of money from those accounts. Clicking on the link could enable fraudsters to download malicious software on to victims’ computers and steal bank passwords and other account information.


The e-mails inform recipients that an “unauthorized transaction” has been charged to their account using their “bank card.” The amount of the transactions is typically between $3,000 and $7,000.

ABA said it would never contact a consumer and ask for financial information. The organization is working with law enforcement to identify the source of the emails and to disrupt them.