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Today's scammers don't have to go
dumpster-diving to get your personal information, as they have found
a more sophisticated way to lure unsuspecting victims -- they go 'phishing'.
Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam to
deceive unsuspecting consumers into disclosing their credit card
numbers, bank account information, Social Security number,
passwords, and other sensitive information. According to the FederalTrade Commission (FTC), phishers send an email that claims to be from a legitimate business or
organization, and the message usually asks that the recipient
"update" or "validate" his or her account information.
What is
Phishing?
Phishing (pronounced “Fishing”) is an
online fraud technique used by criminals to entice you to disclose
your personal information. Phishers use many different tactics
to lure you, including e-mail and Web sites that mimic well-known,
trusted brands. The purpose of these fake messages are
to trick consumers into providing the following:
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Name and username.
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Address and phone number.
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Password or PIN.
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Bank account number.
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ATM/debit or credit card number.
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Credit card validation code (CVC)
How can you tell if an e-mail message is a fraud?
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Requests for personal
information in an e-mail message.
Most legitimate businesses have a policy that they do not ask
you for your personal information through e-mail. Be very
suspicious of a message that asks for personal information even
if it might look legitimate.
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Urgent wording
Phishing emails almost always try to get you to respond
to the message or to click the link that is included. To
increase the number of responses, criminals attempt to create a
sense of urgency so that people immediately respond without
thinking.
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Lack of personalization
Usually, fake e-mail messages are NOT personalized.
For example: Dear valued member, it has come to our
attention that your account information needs to be updated due
to inactive member, frauds, and spoof reports. Failure to
update your records will result in account deletion.
Please follow the link below to confirm you data.
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Fake links
Phishers are getting very sophisticated in their ability
to create misleading links to the point where it is impossible
for the average person to tell if the link is legitimate or not.
It's always best to type in the Web address of the company that
you trust, instead of using the link in the email. The
link you are urged to click might contain all or part of a real
company's name and can be "masked," meaning that the link you
see does not take you to that address but somewhere different,
usually a faked Web site.
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Links using an @ sign
Be aware of URLs that include the @ sign. The URL
would take you to the location that comes after the @ sign, not
to your trusted site. This is because browers ignore anything in
the URL that comes before the @ sign.
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The message body is an image
To avoid detection by spam filters, fake e-mail messages
used in phishing schemes often use an image instead of text in
the message body. The message body image is usually a link
to a Web page.
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Attachments
Many phishing schemes ask you to open attachments, which
can then infect your computer with a virus or spyware. If
spyware is downloaded to your computer, it can then record the
keystrokes you use to log into your personal online accounts and
then sends that information back to the criminal. So be
sure not to open attachments in suspicious e-mail messages.
Any attachment that you want to view should be saved first, and
then scanned with an up-to-date antivirus program before you
open it.
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Promises that seem too good to
be true
Use common sense and be suspicious when you are offered
money or discounts that seem too good to be true.
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Type-o's and poor grammar
Since many fraudulent emails are mass produced, there is
a good chance you will find misspellings and poor grammar.
A legitimate business will usually check these items before
sending an email to their customers.
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Examples of
Phishing Scams
Fake e-mail messages that appear to
be from a company you do business with warning you that they
need to verify your account information or your account will be
suspended.
A combination of auction fraud and
fake escrow sites. This occurs when items are put up for
sale at a legitimate online auction to lure you into making
payments to a fake escrow site.
Fake online sales transactions,
whereby a criminal offers to buy something from you and requests
that they pay you an amount well over the price of the item they
are buying. In return, they ask you to send them a check
for the difference. The payment to you is not sent, but
your check is cashed, and the criminal pockets the difference.
Additionally, the check that you send has your bank account
number, bank routing code, address, and phone number.
Fake charities asking you for money.
Unfortunately, many criminals take advantage of your goodwill. |
