Be Alert! Others Can Catch Your Money Easily!

So called phishers try to catch the information about the account numbers and passwords of internet users. They deceive people with faked emails and websites that resembles exactly the originals of well known banks or electronic payment systems. They make people surrender their passwords and account numbers ? and afterwards they clear their accounts.

This is a peril for internet merchants, affiliates and webmasters, because they often display email addresses on websites, ads or articles. Phishers may pick easily addresses from these sources.

Phishers try to worry you!

They write you stories as follows:

There have been unusual transactions on your account.

Your account is going to be suspended soon, because it lacks validation.

The database crashed down and has to be restored.

They have lost some email addresses and they need to update their database.

A case has been reported how they try to dupe the internet users. The g has been replaced with a q in the URL of citigroup. Thus the URL www.citigroup.com has been altered in www.citiqroup.com

They urge users to act immediately

The next step is that they urge their victims to act. They offer a link to a website, where people can type in their confidential information. If the people submit the demanded information, they open unvoluntarily the doors to a modern kind of thieves. The accounts of the victims can be looted within a few minutes.

How to protect your money?

Be aware: The serious and well known financial service companies never ask people by email for confidential information. I cite from an email by PayPal that I have received after reporting an ominous email to them: "PayPal and its representatives will NEVER ask you to reveal your password. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy. If anyone claiming to work for PayPal asks for your password under any circumstances, by email or by phone, please refuse and immediately contact us via webform.."

This is the most important rule to protect your account!

Other financial services follow a policy similar to PayPal.

People may report to the financial services unusual emails. The more they know about such incidents, the better they can track them in order to find out some patterns about the abusers.

If the people feel uneasy about their accounts, they can check them through the web browser. They should type in manually the website address of the financial service into their browser. They can check matters there safely. But they never may type their confidential information in a form that has been sent by email!

It's recommendable to change the password of electronic accounts from time to time.

By the way: I do not use my email address of the Pay Pal Account in any public statements. I use different email addresses there.

The origin of the word Phishing

The new internet term Phishing origins probably from the word Fishing. Phishing has been extracted from the word combination "password harvesting fishing".

Further background information

More background information about actual kinds of abuse is available at the website www.scambusters.org It's worthwhile to have a look what is going on in the world wide web.

Lil Waldner is a business economist. She is experienced in project management and marketing. She has worked as editor of newspapers and she has written booklets and essays with economic and public issues. Visit her web site: AGM Home Business

---

Identity Theft - Dont Blame The Internet

Identity theft ? also known as ID theft, identity fraud... Read More

Free Spyware Removal - Its Not As Easy As It Sounds

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

Protection for Your PC - Painless and Free!

Viruses, Bugs, Worms, Dataminers, Spybots, and Trojan horses. The Internet... Read More

The Important Steps To Protect Your Kids on the Internet

Internet is the ocean of knowledge. In this ocean you... Read More

Dialing Up a Scam: Avoiding the Auto-Dialer Virus

For many, the daily walk to the mailbox evokes mixed... Read More

Phishing

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

Computer Viruses and Other Nasties: How to Protect Your Computer from These Invaders

Can you protect your computer from all possible viruses and... Read More

The Saga of the Annoying Adware

When we think of adware, what comes to mind are... Read More

8 Surefire Ways to Spot an EBAY Scam E-Mail and Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Ebay is a great site and is used by many... Read More

A Basic Introduction To Spyware

Spyware is the most troublesome software to appear on the... Read More

Its Time to Sing the Encryption Song - Again!

Yes, I'm wearing my encryption hat again. Why you may... Read More

Arming Yourself Against Spyware

While clicking from site to site on the internet you... Read More

Reclaim Your PC from the Internet Spies

Viruses are, however, not the only malicious software programs out... Read More

Don?t Become An Identity Fraud Statistic!

"You've just won a fabulous vacation or prize package! Now,... Read More

Phishing - A High Tech Identity Theft With A Low Tech Solution

Have you ever got an email asking you to confirm... Read More

Top Five Spyware Fighting Tips

Spyware and adware are becoming major problems for online surfers... Read More

Internet Scams: Dont be a Victim

As the number of people using the Internet as an... Read More

Preventing Online Identity Theft

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

Dont be a Dork ? Protect Yourself

There are folks out there who use their powers for... Read More

Is My PC Vulnerable on the Internet?

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

Burning Bridges is Bad, But Firewalls are Good

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

Firewalls: What They Are And Why You MUST Have One!

A firewall is a system or gateway that prevents unauthorized... Read More

Blogs as Safe Haven for Cybercriminals?

To blog or not to blog? Well, why not? Lots... Read More

Identity Theft ? Beware of Phishing Attacks!

"Dear Bank of the West customer", the message begins. I've... Read More

Are You Surfing Safe?

Ok, you've got a computer, and you get online. You... Read More

The Move to a New Anti-Virus Model

This is the second in a series of articles highlighting... Read More

How Spyware Blaster Can Protect Your Computer From Harm

By browsing a web page, you could infect your computer... Read More

What Can Be Done About Spyware And Adware

Having a good Spyware eliminator on your computer is vital... Read More

Internet Privacy

Over the past few years as the internet has become... Read More

Phishing-Based Scams: A Couple of New Ones

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

How to Protect Yourself Against Online Criminals

Credit card fraud is a growing problem for online businesses... Read More

Top Ten Spyware and Adware Threats Identified

On December 8, 2004 Webroot, an award winning anti-spyware solution... Read More

Computer Security

What is computer security? Computer security is the process of... Read More