Apparently, some criminals on the Internet need to invest in spell-checkers.

A fake e-mail making the rounds Monday asks clients of Citibank's online banking service to verify their e-mail, bank card number and PIN by clicking on a link in the e-mail. Citibank issued a statement Monday saying the notice did not come from the company, and the fake e-mail looks something less than professional.

The scam, sometimes call phishing, is designed to get unsuspecting customers of an e-commerce Web site to post their credit card numbers by clicking on a link taking them to a site that appears to belong to the e-commerce company.

While the Citibank phishing scheme appears to use some clever tricks to entice recipients into giving up their bank card numbers, spelling isn't among the perpetrator's strong suits.

Here's the text of one such e-mail, sent Monday:

"Dear Citbiank Cleints,

"This letter was ssent by the CitibankOnline server to veerify your e-mail adress. You must clpoemte this pocrses by clicking on the link below and enttering in the little window your Citibank ATM/Debit card nummber and card pin that you use on local Atm machine. That is donne for your ptorcetion -B- because some of our membres no lneogr have access to their email adesrseds and we must verify it.

"To veerify your e-mail adress and access your CitibankOnline account, clik on the link below. If ntohing hapnpes when you klick on the link -M copie and passte the link into the adderss bar of your web browesr."

Citibank has posted a similar e-mail on its fraudulent e-mail warning page Monday. Citibank asks customers to report suspicious e-mail through a link on its Web site. Other recent phishing scams targeting Citibank customers are also listed on that link.

A Citibank representative didn't immediately return a phone call asking for comment Monday, but the company had this to say on its fraudulent e-mail warning page: "Recently our customers have reported receiving fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from Citibank but which are, in fact, sent by imposters. How can you tell the difference? Fraudulent e-mails typically include attachments, request personal information, or both. When such e-mails are sent in our name, Citibank works aggressively with law enforcement agencies to investigate them."

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.