This has happened before, and it’s happening once again now.

People are getting email messages that claim to be from the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). This is the entity that watches over banks and makes sure you don’t lose your money if your bank would fold. The credit union version is called the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration). They both provide nearly identical services.

These emails inform the potential victim that their bank has failed, and that they need to “check [their] Deposit Insurance coverage” by clicking on a link within the message. Naturally, what happens next is that the scammers obtain your account number, password, and other personal information.

You can only use typography to convey emphasis to a certain extent without getting silly, so in lieu of typing the following in 72-point text, I’ll let bold italics do the job:

The FDIC (or NCUA) is never going to contact you via email for any reason, nor will they ever ask you for personal information, account numbers or passwords.

Got it? As Tom Hulce’s Mozart, on his deathbed, pressed F. Murray Abraham’s Salieri in Amadeus, “Do you have it? Do you have it?!”

Good. If you get one of these messages, delete it immediately.