Phishers lick lips as FSA spams Icesave account holders

The UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme is doing its bit to keep the phishing industry in business by sending e-mails to customers of defunct Internet bank Icesave advising them to log-on to their accounts and claim compensation.

The first batch of e-mails went out Monday, and customers are already complaining that the mails are being swept up by Spam filters such as that provided by Google-owned Postini.

This first e-mail informing customers of proceedings will be followed by a second e-mail that will "provide instructions on how depositors can log on to their existing Icesave accounts in the normal way to complete a short electronic process allowing them to receive their compensation".

The procedure appears to contravene standard banking industry instructions to consumers to ignore e-mail inducements to click through to links directing them to their Internet accounts.

Given the devious methods employed by Internet crooks to entice online banking customers into giving up their security details, it would be no surprise at all if the FSA-approved process sparked a fresh round of phishing e-mails targetting Icesave account holders.

Surely it would have been easier - and safer - for the FSCC to use the postal seervice instead?