Westpac hit by spam wave

Private Bin got sent a rather strange email from Westpac New Zeeland yesterday asking customers to re-enter online banking details.

The email was spam (the incorrect spelling of New Zealand was the first give away) but apart from that and a weblink directing customers to a UK address, the email could have passed for authentic.

Westpac spokesperson Craig Dowling said such emails were “annoyingly common” and that its fraud department had been alerted and the website had been shut down.

Mr Dowling said as far as he knew no customers had had their accounts compromised. “This is fairly common, customers need to be alert (for such emails). These types of emails have increased over the past year.

This is the email;
Dear customer,

Our records show that your online session has been locked due to the
following reason.

1. Log On attempts with invalid information.

2. Inadequate Update on your Westpac New Zealand Online Account.

We urge you to restore your Westpac New Zealand Online Account immediately
to avoid final shut down of your account.

Click the link below to Restore Your Westpac New Zealand Online Account:

Westpac New Zealand Online Account; click here
© 2009 Westpac New Zealand Corporation. All rights reserved.

The website has been shut down – it reads;
Reported web forgery;

This web site (at 213-162-113-50.tsm079.adsl.metronet.co.uk) has been reported as a web forgery and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

Web forgeries are designed to trick you into revealing personal or financial information by imitating sources you may trust.

Entering any information on this web page may result in identity theft or other fraud.