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Some customers of Wells Fargo bank Monday found themselves the target of an e-mail fraud attempt.

One customer contacted the bank after receiving a suspicious-looking e-mail from "Wells Fargo Accounting" regarding a new account application. Wells Fargo responded Tuesday, saying the e-mail was a hoax.

It contained an attachment that, if opened, would download software onto the customer's computer, gather passwords, and send them to an unauthorized third party, presumably to the originator of the e-mail, the bank said.

Wells Fargo urged recipients to delete both the e-mail and the attachment and, if they had reason to believe they had been infected, to use antivirus software and change all their Internet and system passwords.

Feeling the Effects

It wasn't immediately clear how many customers had been affected by the scam, although a Wells Fargo customer service representative confirmed that it has been a problem since Monday. Public relations officials for the bank, based in San Francisco, couldn't be reached for comment.

"Please be assured that the hoax e-mail was not sent from Wells Fargo and is not associated with any department of Wells Fargo. It is being circulated to a large number of people, including some Wells Fargo customers," the bank said in its e-mail.

Wells Fargo said its systems had not been compromised in any way.

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