This week's scam may be inoperative by the time you read this, but on the Internet, one never knows.

	Click photo for larger image.

The senders of the e-mail pose as BB&T Co., the Raleigh-Durham, N.C.-based bank. And as is common with phishing attempts, the e-mail tries to obtain your information by playing on your desire to protect that information, by making a promise and by suggesting a threat.

In this case, the promise is that BB&T will send you a "security device which generates online codes to perform online transactions." All you have to do is register and fill out an application form at the Web page that the e-mail refers you to, and within two weeks you will receive the device. If you don't click on the link, register and fill out the application, the e-mail says that your online account access will be "temporarily blocked for security reasons."

Perhaps the first rule in dealing with this type of e-mail is, "Whatever it asks you to do, don't do it."

Whatever you do, do not click on the link. Besides directing you to a fake Web page, the link in a scam e-mail may actually cause the scammer's computer to place new software on your computer that can be used to either steal your information or to infect other computers.

When I first received the e-mail, forwarded from a co-worker, I took a look at the Web page and saw that, surprise, surprise, it asks for my user ID and password -- information that the senders could then have used to wipe out my BB&T bank account, if I had one. However, on my last attempt to visit the Web page, Internet Explorer said, "The page cannot be displayed."

Disappearing pages are a common feature of phishing operations. When the scam artists realize that people are starting to catch on to their plots, they disable the Web pages that might allow law enforcement officials to track them down by way of their Internet address. But the scam often reappears later, either using the same e-mail and the same Web page, or with some slight variations.

If you receive this e-mail, you can report it BB&T by forwarding it to InternetFraud@bbandt.com.