Bank of Montreal customers who have received text or email messages claiming that their accounts have been disabled are asked not to click on the links or follow the instructions in the messages. This is because the fake messages are phishing scams being sent by cyber criminals to frighten and trick Bank of Montreal customers into clicking on the links in the same fake messages, which go to a phishing website that steals online account credentials and personal information.
Once the cybercriminals have received their potential victims’ online account credentials, they will gain access to their accounts, steal their money and use their accounts fraudulently.
A Sample of the Phishing Bank of Montreal (BMO) Scam
From: Bank-Of-Montreal.official-monitored .document270536445 @cidr.jhmi.edu
Date: Jul 6, 2017 4:01 PM
Subject: Urgent: Client Confirmation No: VQ270536 , Thursday, July 6, 2017
Connected
You are no longer allowed to access your online banking account, we had to disable your online access for your security. This it can be because of a recent change in your account address or submitting incorrect information during the initial registration process.
Please verify your account within the next 24 hours in order to avoid online suspension by following our secure link below:
http://www1.bmo.com/user-confirmation/netbnx/270536
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to visit your local BMO Bank branch.
Thank you for choosing BMO Bank of Montreal.
Bank of Montreal users who have received messages asking them to click on a link or visit a website in order to update, reconfirm or verify their accounts, should always go directly to https://www.bmo.com/ and sign-in from there. Once the Bank of Montreal users have signed into their accounts, they will be notified of updates and other important changes, if there is any.
Going directly to Bank of Montreal’s website (www.bmo.com) will prevent users or customers from becoming victims of phishing scams that steal personal information or online account credentials.