How to Tell If That Bank Notice is Legitimate or Not

In these "scary" economic times, we need to be extra careful about preserving our financial resources. The last thing any of us needs right now is to be the victim of a "phishing" scam that tricks someone into revealing personal security information.

First of all, it is NEVER a good idea to respond to an online inquiry that asks for such information even if it LOOKS as if it came from your bank.

Second, the grammar in these notices is often really bad because they are crafted by criminals, not educated bank officials.

I've posted a good example below. This one appeared in my e-mail box this week, and it didn't take more than a few seconds to recognize that it was written by someone who would not have been hired by my bank. I've deleted the bank name, but left everything else the same. See if you agree:


Dear Customer,

To ensure your safety and protection in all internet banking transactions, We (no need to capitalize) were cross-examining all accounts file (this word not needed) Via (no need to capitalize) our newly upgraded SSL server. This is to inform you that we encountered an error updating your SECURITY QUESTION and ANSWER in your Online Banking profile. To avoid someone from accessing (poor wording--TO KEEP SOMEONE FROM...) your account, we request you verify your account immediately. We also wish to inform you that from time to time you will be having difficulty accessing special account features and might be liable to facing online fraud (LIABLE FOR...) for which (the bank) wouldn't (not likely a real bank would have used a contraction here) be held responsible unless your account has been updated. We kindly ask you to "click here" so as to update via our newly upgraded SSL server.We apologize for any inconveniences.
Thank you,

I did leave one grammar/usage error uncorrected just in case the perpetrator happens to read this blog, but I doubt that is likely.

If you think you know what the other error is, please add a comment, and I will let you know if you are correct.