Beware bogus emails

By Stephen Lansdown | 24 Jun, 2008 

My wife received an email the other day from her bank asking for certain information.  Everything looked right; the logo, the address, the official layout of the email which was in letter form but what alerted her attention to the fact that something might be wrong was the use of one or two phrases which did not look quite right, one or two mis-spellings and then a general feeling that it was not particularly businesslike.

Needless to say she reported it to the bank, did not respond to the email and deleted it.

The reason I am highlighting this here is just another reminder because I do not think that you can have too many.  No reputable institution is going to write to you and ask for such personal information.  If in doubt always refer it back to the institution concerned.  As far as Hargreaves Lansdown is concerned we will never write to you to ask you for personal information so if you receive such communication then please either ignore it or refer it back to us and we will take whatever action we can to track down the perpetrators and bring them to book.  The electronic age has brought many benefits but it also brings with it new and different dangers which means that we all have to be extra vigilant.