Email scammers target Nochex users

Spam scam epidemic

By John Leyden, 18th March 2003

A bogus email doing the rounds this week tries to trick Nochex customers into giving up their account passwords and bank card details

The email, which purports to come from the payment service, tries to convince punters that they need to send this data as part of a supposed security check.

A quick glance at the headers reveals that the email has nothing to do with Nochex, but the work of unknown fraudsters.

The scam is in many ways similar to a PayPal scam we reported last week. That too tried to fool punters into giving up bank card details via a bogus email.

If you get an email along the lines of the one below then on no account take it seriously.

From: NOCHEX Account Department
To:
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2003 2:57 AM
Subject: Your account is Limited.

Your account is Limited.

NOCHEX is currently performing regular maintenance of our security measures. Your account has been randomly selected for this maintenance, and placed on Limited Access status. Protecting the security of your NOCHEX account is our primary concern, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. To restore your account to its regular status, you must confirm your email address by logging in to your NOCHEX account using the form below.

All fields are required.

Top of Form

Email Address :

Password:

Card Type:

Card Number:

Expiry Date:

Issue Number:

Date of Birth Of Card Holder:

Bottom of Form

Forgot Password?
Logging in Problems?

This notification expires March 31, 2003
Bottom of Form

Anti-fraud site Early Warning offers general advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of the Nochex scam or similar frauds.

Early Warning advises that you should NEVER enter your personal details into a web page until you are sure that the page is secure by:

Checking the URL: The URL in your browser's address bar should begin with https://www.nochex.com (note that the 's' after 'http' indicates that this is a secure web page). Even if the URL contains the word 'NOCHEX' it may not be a NOCHEX web page.
Checking the Padlock: Make sure you have a 'padlock' in the bottom right-hand corner of your browser. Double click on the 'padlock' to make sure that the security certificate has been issued to 'www.nochex.com'.

Nochex itself advises that you should NEVER enter your personal details into any page that you believe is not secure or genuine. It advises concerned punters to contact the company at security@nochex.com if they are in any doubt, and BEFORE they enter your details.

"If you are concerned about the security of your NOCHEX account then change your password immediately and contact NOCHEX Customer Services at support@nochex.com," the company advises. ®