Fraudulent E-mail Messages Target Citibank Customers

ANY Citibank or Citigroup customersreceiving an e-mail asking them to visit aWeb site and enter their account informationshould report it immediately to bankofficials because it is fraudulent, Citibankspokeswoman Irene Fariña told The TicoTimes Tuesday.The e-mails, which contain theCitibank logo, warn recipients that unlessthey provide information including theiraccount number, password, PIN and creditor debit-card number at the listed Web site,their accounts could be blocked.While the Web site appears to havebeen deactivated at press time, the e-mailscontinue to worry Citibank officials, accordingto Fariña, since any customer providingsuch information could become the victimof identity theft or credit-card fraud.“We are collaborating with authoritiesto find the source of the e-mails,” shesaid, adding that neither Citigroup norany of its subsidiaries or affiliates requestaccount information by e-mail. CitibankCosta Rica is a corporate bank and doesnot offer personal accounts, so those mostlikely to have been taken in by the emails’warning would be those who haveCitibank accounts in other countries.Recipients of the e-mails should forwardthem to Citigroup officials atellen.arauz@citigroup.com oreverth.gutierrez@citigroup.com, andthen delete the e-mail. The forwarded emailsmay help officials in their effort totrace the messages to their source.Citibank customers who have alreadyentered personal account information atthe fraudulent site should contactCitibank immediately at the customer servicenumber that appears on their accountstatement, Fariña said.