GRUNDY CENTER - A potential Internet phishing scam involving several customers of Grundy National Bank has been quashed, bank officials said Wednesday.

It also served as a reminder that fraud is proliferating on the Internet, they say.

In this instance, a link to a bogus Web site, designed to simulate the Grundy bank's legitimate site, was distributed to e-mail accounts, including The Courier.

The message came in the form as a "new alert message" and directed the recipient to log into a site designed to resemble the bank's site.

Grundy bank officials were quick to point out it was a fraudulent message.

"Obviously, it's a phishing scam, and they're using our bank's name falsely," said Keely Harken, marketing officer with Grundy National Bank.

Harken said the bank received several calls from alarmed customers early Tuesday morning and proceeded to take steps to shut down the bogus site.

"Obviously, this kind of thing is launched to tens of thousands of potential customers," Harken said. "They're hoping they're going to catch a few of our potential customers."

Phishing is defined as the practice of luring unsuspecting Internet users to a phony Web site by using authentic-looking e-mail with the legitimate organization's logo as a way to steal passwords and financial or personal information or introduce a virus attack.

Harken said nobody lost any money to the phishers in this instance.

"This was sent to the region," she said. "We've gotten about a dozen calls this morning."

What's the best advice for dealing with these types of messages?

"Ignore it, delete it, absolutely do not follow the directions," Harken said. "What we repeat to our customers is no bank will ever need to ask you for that information via e-mail, text message or via a phone call. We have the identifying information of our customers. We protect it and keep it private."

The scam was the second in the last several months, said Dan Kramer, senior vice president of marketing and merchant operations for Shazam Inc., Des Moines, which issues debit cards on behalf of Grundy National Bank and other financial institutions across the Midwest.

"We had experienced a phishing incident via phone in August that targeted residential phone numbers, customers and

noncustomers," he said. "We felt very good at that time our customers are listening to the messages through our communications. This is the fastest-growing crime out there. It's a quick method of fraud that's reaping these criminals bonuses."

He emphasized the word "quick" in his description of the crime.

"It depends on where it originates," he said. "It can be difficult if it requires dealing with foreign law-enforcement agencies. We don't have any sort of domain control when servers or Web sites are being housed outside the continental United States."

A recipient can have an account cleaned out in anywhere from hours to days, Kramer said.

The problem has grown worldwide and is as common in Iowa as elsewhere, said Bill Brauch, director of consumer protection division of the Iowa Attorney General's Office.

"The perpetrators generally are located outside the U.S. and are growing more sophisticated in their ability to trick people into giving up personal information," Brauch said. "The key thing Iowans need to know is legitimate companies will never e-mail you out of the blue, whether they're banks, retailers, eBay or whoever, and ask you to enter account numbers and other personal information online. You should never do that. That's a simple rule that all Iowans should follow. If something appears to be suspicious, delete it and don't engage in any e-mail communications with these folks, either."

Kramer recommends calling the Iowa Attorney General's Office if a scam is suspected. The office's toll-free number is (888) 777-4590.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also has a link on its Web site, www.ftc.gov.

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.