UK News: Bank of England email scam

Yup, it's another scam email sent in a spoofy manner by a load of merchant bankers...

The Bank of England says it has intercepted over 100,000 fraudulent e-mails masquerading as computer security software issued by the central bank. The bogus e-mail, which appears to come from a Bank of England administrator, instructed recipients to download a file attachment designed to protect individuals' banking details from fraudsters.

The Bank of England said it received scores of queries from companies and individuals asking about the e-mail's authenticity. It advised recipients to delete it immediately.

The e-mail comes amid a string of e-mail and Web site hoaxes posing as banking institutions. In the past few months, a rash of fake e-mails claiming to be from some of the world's biggest banks have appeared in e-mail in-boxes, attempting to dupe banking customers into divulging their bank details.

A spokeswoman from the central bank said technicians were working with the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit to determine what -- if anything -- the file attachment was capable of, and who may have sent it.

"It appears to come from somebody outside the UK," the spokeswoman said. She added the email address used -- admin@bankofengland.co.uk -- does not exist.

This newsposter knows you lot wouldn't fall for a scam like this, but just in case please set "Trust all incoming emails?" to "Heck no", use common sense, and make sure that antivirus software is up to date and used.

View: BoE hit by hoax e-mail scam