A recent internet scam that targeted a DeRidder bank has started up again. E-mails are still being sent out, this time to advise recipients that there is a problem with their accounts and that they must go to a link and enter personal information to unlock their account.

This bank's spokesperson, who asked that no identifying information be released, explains that the hacker, or hackers, has been sending out many different varieties of these e-mails to acquire the recipient's account number and pin number.

However, not all the e-mails are being sent to customers who have an account at this bank. The spokesperson explains that the scammer managed to break into another company's e-mail server, not associated with the bank, and access all the addresses it contained. "They broke through three firewalls to do this," states the spokesperson.

The DeRidder bank has been referring these scams to Sheriff's Office Detective Carla Smith, who works primarily in computer forensics. She explains that this type of scam is typical to what has happened to other banks. "This happens quite a bit," states Smith.

Smith has been handling the case since it began at the beginning of September, and she states that this case has been complicated by the fact that it is being run overseas. "The first instances were coming from Japan and the UK," she says. Smith has also been referring these crimes to the FBI bank fraud team. "Some foreign countries can be difficult to deal with, but the FBI team already has contacts in these areas," Smith states.

Anyone who has been a target of this or similar scams is encouraged to call their bank and report it. Until then, Smith advises customers to never give out personal information and to be wary of forwarding e-mails. "Every time you forward an e-mail, you're putting all those addresses out there to be used like this," she states. Smith suggests that, when possible, a person should copy and paste the information into an all new e-mail and send it that way. "Not everyone does this, but enough are out there who do to be careful," says Smith.