The Bank of England said Tuesday that it had intercepted more than 100,000 fraudulent e-mails masquerading as computer security software issued by the central bank. . . .
The Bank of England said Tuesday that it had intercepted more than 100,000 fraudulent e-mails masquerading as computer security software issued by the central bank.

The bogus e-mail, which disguises itself as a message from a Bank of England administrator, instructed recipients to download a file attachment designed to protect individuals' banking details from fraudsters.

The Bank of England said it received scores of queries from companies and individuals asking about the e-mail's authenticity. It advised recipients to delete it immediately.

The e-mail comes amid a string of e-mail and Web site hoaxes posing as British banking institutions.

In the past few months, a rash of fake e-mails claiming to be from some of the world's biggest banks have appeared in e-mail in-boxes, attempting to dupe banking customers into divulging their bank details.

A representative from the central bank said technicians were working with the United Kingdom's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit to determine what, if anything, the file attachment was capable of, and who may have sent it.