E-mail scam targets bank customers

The hackers are using a domain name of an Icelandic …

The hackers are using a domain name of an Icelandic law firm to make recipients believe they have received an e-mail from their bank. EPA

In recent weeks and months many people in Iceland have received e-mails made to look as if they have been sent by Icelandic banks. One mbl.is reader contacted us regarding an e-mail he had received from ‘skilaboo@islands.is’ purporting to be from Íslandsbanki.

The e-mail states that the recipient needs to confirm their bank account by clicking on the link given. In most cases, this link contains a virus. Hackers have also successfully used this method to obtain personal data and steal money from bank accounts.

False e-mail address

Our reader’s suspicions were aroused by the fact that the domain name ‘islands.is’ is owned by Lögfræðistofa Íslands, an Icelandic law firm. According to the owner of the company, Bjarni Hólmar Einarsson, the e-mails have nothing to do with them.

“This is just terrible,” says Einarsson. “I was immediately informed of what was going on but there is nothing that can be done.”

It reflects badly on his company that people may think these e-mails are coming from them. “This of course has nothing to do with Lögfræðistofa Íslands and the e-mail address in question does not exist. These hackers have just picked a domain name which looks like it might belong to Íslandsbanki,” explains Einarsson. “This is clearly the link – they have no interest in me personally.”

More of an inconvenience than a danger

According to Þórir Ingvars­son, detective inspector at the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police, this sort of thing is common. Such cases are sometimes investigated, but mainly only if the e-mails in question actually cause harm.

“Cases such as these can of course always be investigated and we sometimes do,” explains Ingvarsson. “But there are so many instances of this and usually they are more of an inconvenience than a danger. When damage is done, though, we often investigate the case specifically. This usually involves fraud or similar offences.”

Weather

Clear sky

Today

2 °C

Partly cloudy

Later today

4 °C

Partly cloudy

Tomorrow

1 °C