Spoofed Website Scams, which may impact Schwab
There is a growing concern about “spoofed” websites which are designed to convince users that they are visiting legitimate sites. Some of you have reported this huge concern to us with links from Schwab which are not actually from Schwab. Because of the reports from account holders, Schwab has provided some information and talking points for advisors to share with clients. We have also gotten reports of fake emails with links which look like they are from us.
How this happens:
Potential fraudsters purchase “sponsored links” to fake websites which appear at the top of search results. They hope that we, as unsuspecting potential victims, will click on these links and be directed to these fake websites where we could be exposed to malware or asked to provide confidential information.
What we all need to do, for all website links, not just for Schwab links
Watch for URL errors, including misspellings, grammar/format errors or unusual website domains. Even one letter out of place is a signal that something is likely amiss. The fake emails from us have originated from fake email addresses. Check that.
When you click on the site link, you are notified of a login issue and often directed to a hotline phone number. There may be a mention of unauthorized account activity. Remember that Schwab will never ask you over the phone for your account login password so if someone asks you for that, do not provide it. Obviously, we will never ask you for passwords in email or on the phone either.
Question anything from Schwab which looks like an attempt to create a sense of urgency. Call us right away before you act.
Additional steps we are taking:
As you know, we look at all account activity every day in every account so we will track you down if we see something unexpected – that we didn’t talk about, that we didn’t initiate, or which doesn’t follow your patterns of financial behavior.
We have seen some of these attempts via DocuSign or other electronic document approval systems.
We only use DocuSign and only via Schwab. Links from any other document approval systems are not from us/Schwab.
We originate 100% of the DocuSign envelopes you get from Schwab. Schwab cannot do this on their own. And we will TELL YOU via email, text, or phone when we send you a DocuSign agreement via Schwab so that you know we sent it. If you have not heard from us, don’t open until or unless you confirm with us.
Some Schwab documents from us are delivered via email link to your Schwab.com (Schwab alliance log in) rather than via DocuSign. But we will also TELL YOU via email, text or phone when we send a document this way so you know it is from us. For extra security, consider logging into your Schwab.com account vs using the email link.
If you are not sure, call us right away.