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British anti-spam software company, ClearMyMail, identified Citibank and HSBC as the second and third most popular institutions in a league table of fraudulent phishing emails sent during December 2007.

During the month the company blocked an average of 18 fake NatWest phishing emails, 12 fake Citibank emails and five fake HSBC

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emails from each of its customers.

"Without any email protection, UK online banking customers are at severe risk of being tricked into giving away their account details to criminal gangs. The phishing emails used are very well constructed and often look exactly like a legitimate message from the bank," says Dan Field, ClearMyMail managing director.

However, NatWest was keen to defend its position, and highlight its own efforts to combat the influx of phishing email.

"This piece of research is merely a snapshot. Phishing is an industry wide issue and focus on different organisations fluctuates greatly," says NatWest spokeswoman, Anita Ballantyne.

"NatWest has taken considerable steps over the past few years to warn customers against responding to phishing emails, and continues to clearly advise that we will never ask customers to provide us with this type of personal information by email."