Phishing - Identity Theft & Credit Card Fraud

What is Phishing?
Phishing is a relatively newly coined term for a kind of method for harvesting information for identity theft. Phishing is quite simply providing a person with false information or credentials to trick them in to giving you their personal information. This is done by a form of social engineering, by posing as a different person or organization that you already trust.

How does Phishing Work?
The most common form of Phishing is done by sending out fraudulent e-mails, that lead back to websites that look legitimate. Normally an e-mail is sent to a huge amount of people stating in very general terms that you should come to their website and update your information, or provide them with some new information they need, or some other similar excuse. When you click on the link in the e-mail it will take you to a website that looks very similar to the one you are expecting, you enter your information, and now they've got you. Another method is to open a popup windows asking information, on top of the real legitimate website.

How can I identify a scam e-mail?
There are several major things to look out for that will lead you to believe the e-mail is fraudulent. Quite often the e-mails will be HTML based, not plain text, this allows them to put active links that display a legitimate website, but the coding behind it takes you to a different website.

Often new websites are registered with altered spellings of major corporations and organizations, or the link will lead directly to an IP address (ie 24.38.122.156) instead of a website domain (ie www.website.com).

Another very quick way to identify a false e-mail is to see who it is address to. Normally e-mails that are fraudulent in nature are addressed to "Dear Customer" as opposed to your real name, and often they are e-mailed to many users at one time.

No legitimate organization should ever ask you to provide you with personal information via e-mail. If any e-mail ever asks you to e-mail them your private information, you should report this e-mail to the company they are posing as.

How can I avoid falling for a Phishing scam?
If you believe the e-mail could be legitimate, don't click on the link in the e-mail, instead open up your web browser, and use the link/favorite you already have, or type in the website yourself in to the URL box. This will guarantee that you are using the correct legitimate website!

Using the same method to get to the website as mentioned above, go to the organizations help page or contact page and ask them about the e-mail they may have sent you. You can also forward them the e-mail to a known legitimate e-mail address at their organization.

What if I already fell for this scam?
If you have mistakenly been taken in by this kind of scam there is several very important steps you need to take. First, report that you have been tricked by this method to your credit card companies, and other financial institutions.

Report that you have been tricked to the company that you thought you were legitimately updating information for. If you can provide them with the e-mail that tricked you, it may be useful for helping to reduce the impact on other people around the world.

Change all your passwords and PIN numbers for all your financial institutions and websites immediately.

Monitor your credit card statements, financial slips and balances. If you notice a discrepancy, immediately contact your financial organization and let them know about the fraudulent activity. In addition most banks should be able to add you to a fraud report list that will stay on your credit report that will make it harder for people to create new credit cards or open accounts without providing legitimate identification in person. Finally, you should contact your local police or law enforcement organization and file an incident report to cover yourself should illegal activities happen!

Ken Dennis http://KenDennis-RSS.homeip.net/

---

Spyware ? Your Web Browser is the Culprit!

My first experience with a spyware BHO based infection was... Read More

Dont Fall Victim to Internet Fraud-10 Tips for Safer Surfing

The Internet offers a global marketplace for consumers and businesses.... Read More

Spyware Removal

Spyware SolutionProbably Today's Biggest Computer Problem. You Suffer Without Knowing... Read More

Spyware Attacks! Windows Safe Mode is No Longer Safe

Many of us have run into an annoying and time-consuming... Read More

If You Steal It, They May Come!

Business on the internet is getting down right shameless. This... Read More

Computer Viruses, Worms, and Hoaxes

In recent days, I was one of the unfortunate persons... Read More

Phishing-Based Scams: A Couple of New Ones

Phishing in its "classic" variant is relatively well-known. Actually, 43.4... Read More

Fishing for Fortunes. Scam!

Spelt phishing, but pronounced as above, this despicable act is... Read More

Is My PC Vulnerable on the Internet?

No longer are viruses the only threat on the internet.... Read More

Sarbanes-Oxley: A Cross-Industry Email Compliance Challenge

Is your enterprise following the rules?The bulk of financial information... Read More

How to Get Rid of New Sobig.F Virus?

As you know, this time the virus under the name... Read More

Protecting Your Home Both Inside and Out

If you are a parent, you have probably wondered at... Read More

How Can Someone Get Private Information From My Computer?

From the "Ask Booster" column in the June 17, 2005... Read More

5 Simple Steps to Protect your Digital Downloads

A couple of days ago, I was searching for a... Read More

40 Million People Hacked - YOU as Identity Theft Victim

Saturday, MasterCard blamed a vendor of ALL credit card providers... Read More

Mall Protection

The Loss Prevention Manager should be receptive to the needs... Read More

All About Computer Viruses

Your computer is as slow as molasses. Your mouse freezes... Read More

The Importance of Protecting Your PC from Viruses and Spam

Today the internet is a mine field of malicious code... Read More

Lets Talk About Antivirus Software!

Nowadays more and more people are using a computer. A... Read More

Phishing - Learn To Identify It

Phishing: (fish'ing) (n.)This is when someone sends you an email... Read More

Internet Small Business and Fraud

Be careful of sites that promise to send you "instant... Read More

The Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore

The internet is undoubtedly a fantastic resource for families and... Read More

Virus Prevention 101

Blaster, Welchia, Sobig, W32, Backdoor, Trojan, Melissa, Klez, Worm, Loveletter,... Read More

Preventing Online Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the most common criminal acts... Read More

Is the Internet Insecure Because of You?

Long gone are the days that we could feel secure... Read More

Free Spyware Removal - Its Not As Easy As It Sounds

Nobody wants to pay to remove spyware. At the very... Read More

Temporary Internet Files - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A little bit of time invested into learning about internet... Read More

Secrets On Security: A Gentle Introduction To Cryptography

Let us take the example of scrambling an egg. First,... Read More

Burning Bridges is Bad, But Firewalls are Good

When you signed up for that ultra-fast DSL or Cable... Read More

A Personal Experience with Identity Theft

Some months ago, before there was much publicity regarding phishing... Read More

Information Security for E-businessmen: Just a Couple of Ideas

If you constantly deal with bank or electronic accounts, it... Read More

Backup and Save your business!

There you are busily typing away on your PC or... Read More

Phishing

Recently I have received email from my bank/credit Card Company,... Read More