Phishing Scams: JP Morgan Chase updated report

By Ben Woolsey

In recent months, thousands of fraudulent e-mails have been sent to unsuspecting Americans that pretend to be from Chase. These "phishing" e-mails take several different forms (see an example below), but all tell the recipient that they must click on a link to verify their personal and account information to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, having their account closed or lose online access to their Chase Bank or credit card accounts.

The e-mails are not coming form Chase, but rather one or more fraudulent individuals posing as the banking giant. There is only one thing to do if you receive one of these e-mails, and that is to ignore it. No reputable organization, especially a major bank, would ever send an outbound e-mail that requires that you verify personal information online.

If you are a recipient of one of these fraudulent e-mails you can also forward it to Chase at the following fraud reporting e-mail address: Abuse@Chase.com. If you were fooled by the original e-mail and responded with personal information, you should immediately contact Chase and report the loss of your information to protect your accounts and learn about additional steps to safeguard your identity.

Example of a fraudulent letter:

Dear Chase Customer

We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your Chase Internet Banking account may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party.

Protecting the security of your account and of the Chase network is our primary concern. Therefore, as a preventive measure, we have temporarily limited access to sensitive account features.

To restore your account access, please take the following steps to ensure that your account has not been compromised:

1. Login to your Chase Internet banking account. In case you are not enrolled yet for Internet banking, you will have to use your Social Security number as both your personal ID and password and fill in the required information, including your name and account number.

2. Review your recent account history for any unauthorized withdrawals or deposits, and check your account profile to make sure no changes have been made. If any unauthorized activity has taken place on your account, report to Chase staff immediately.

To get started, please click the link below:

https://chaseonline.somethingelse.com/colappmgr/XXX

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your assistance in helping us maintain the integrity of the entire Chase system.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
The Chase Bank Team

If consumers receive an e-mail like the one above, regardless of which bank it purports to be from or whether the recipient has an account with that bank or not, they should delete it and not provide a response. This advice is being given by all the major banks and by the Federal Trade Commission.

Published: April 24, 2006

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