Fedwire Hit With Phishing Scam
Financial institutions are being warned that they may be getting phishing emails that appear to come from the Federal Reserve Bank. The FDIC issued a special alert on Thursday warning of fraudulent emails allegedly coming from the Fed. The email claims that a phishing attack has affected the Fedwire system and that restrictions are in place.Institutions are warned that the phishing email has various spoofed names and addresses that the email appears to come from, including "System Administration," "Bank System Administration" and "Federal Reserve Bank." The phishing emails contain links to two Web pages that attempt to load malicious Trojan horse programs onto end users' computers. This is not the first time phishers have used federal banking agencies to target phishing victims.
The FDIC says Fedwire operations are not restricted and are operating normally. In its alert the FDIC lists recommendations on steps to take if the email is received. Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section at alert@fdic.gov.