Oceanic sets up phishing Web site
Oceanic Time Warner Cable has launched an Internet security Web site to counter e-mail "phishing" scams targeting Road Runner customers.
The site comes in response to calls about a scam circulating through Road Runner Internet subscribers' e-mail inboxes requesting personal account information, the company said yesterday. The fraudulent e-mails and pop-up messages attempt to acquire financial data by using links to redirect users to fake sites.
It is the first time Oceanic has been hit with a phishing scam in a year, said Kiman Wong, general manager for Oceanic's Digital Phone home phone service. The company has been targeted four or five times before with similar scams, he said, although customers call daily with reports of phishing e-mails targeting other companies.
"We normally see phishing e-mails target places more like banks and people who deal with credit card companies and PayPal," he said. "They're always trying different tactics."
Oceanic has 220,000 Internet subscribers. There have been no reports of anyone falling for the scam, which was sent out in an e-mail blast over several days in early September, Wong said. The company's security department analyzes the e-mails to see what Internet service provider was used to send them, and it is that company's responsibility to locate the sender, he said. Oceanic was not the service provider used in this scam.
Oceanic's Web site provides tips on how to avoid these scams and two examples of fake e-mails, which use the company's logo and threaten to suspend a user's account if they fail to respond with billing information. The site urges customers to use firewall software to help keep computers secure and to ignore e-mail requests for personal information.
"We do not send out e-mails asking you to confirm your personal information," Wong said. "If there's a need to get information from a customer we will actually call."
For additional security information or to report scams, visit Oceanic's security site at security.aroundhawaii.com/phishing.html.