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There is absolutely no question that it is a phishing scam. But it's a good idea to let Bank of America see this letter, because I believe they will see that it gets investigated and hopefully the scammer gets caught.
We will take it to the branch tomorrow. Isn't it a bit unusual for phishers to use the U.S. mail for their scams? And a PO box? That makes it a federal crime and should be easy to catch the perps.
If its a scam I wonder how many SS#s they have harvested.
It appears to be real. Using a PO BOX for a phishing scam would make the crime much worse and therefore the punishment as well. That's why most scammers use private mailboxes and not USPS.
Google just ruins the mystery when it comes to these things.
Thanks for the link. It just boggles my mind that they would send a letter like that. Still not going to mail the W-9 back to the po box.
Coincidentally, I just received the following email, which I know for sure is a phishing scam:
[/CENTER]
WOW! When it rains it pours. I would definitely take it up with them in a branch. It sounds like something about your account triggered more federal scrutiny so what they are asking for you probably have to give them. But their methodology stinks but then again they are an evil bank.
Is this a phishing scam? Or is BofA just really stupid?
Yes and yes.
Its also a huge company & the larger a firm is, the more that escapes their attention. Just because they're huge doesn't mean that they're more attentive.
It never ceases to amaze me that people are still banking at the Too Big To Fail banks. Your best best is to close the BofA account and join a Credit Union, or, if you must, a smaller regional bank. You won't be having these issues is you stay local. There are too many horror stories on how BofA treats even good customers, see Consumerist.com, to take something like this lightly.
In addition, the Credit Unions operate on a non-profit basis and they are not paying off huge bonuses to investment banksters, executive management taking huge risks, and shareholders. Their costs are lower and this means they are not trying to gouge you with fees and scams.
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Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Mecklenburg is automatically eligible to join the Charlotte Metro Credit Union. You may also have work based or other Credit Unions that you can join. http://www.cmcu.org
Its also a huge company & the larger a firm is, the more that escapes their attention. Just because they're huge doesn't mean that they're more attentive.
I agree that things may escape their attention.
I've always been told that any solicitations via mail or email for your SSN are usually scams. Based on the info the OP gave I lean towards phishing.
Just call them and be an annoyance to them. I started doing a lot of transactions in person to avoid crap like this. If it was really important they would have sent the authorities lol.
I've been thinking of switching to a credit union but I never carry cash on me. I might have to change that since banks annoy the crap out of me. Just give me a place to store my money without any fees and I'm happy.
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