Phishing - How to Avoid Getting Caught
With so many of us online
nowadays, it's inevitable that criminals familiar with computer technology have
found ways to take advantage of it to make money. The Internet is almost
impossible to police, as it crosses so many international borders, and criminals
can operate basically from anywhere there's power and an internet connection.
Phishing is just one of many schemes thought up by criminal minds to part us
from our money.
Phishing is simply the scam of sending out a fake email
in order to try and get the recipient to respond with private or financial
information. You've probably received plenty of these - they pretend to come
from a well known bank, tell you that someone has changed your password or that
your account will be terminated if you don't confirm your details, and give you
a link to click on.
Of course if you do actually click on the link,
you'll be taken to a false website where the information you enter will be
recorded and used to log in to your bank account or credit card and steal your
money. In extreme cases, where the phishing attempt also gets private
information such as your social security number, your whole identity may be
stolen and used to apply for fake loans. Your financial and credit history can
be ruined in literally hours, before you have any idea there's something
wrong.
How Do I Avoid Being Caught?
While this sounds terrible,
there are things you can do to lessen the risk of your information being
phished. The first, and most important, is to NEVER respond to an email that
appears to come from your financial institution. It doesn't matter how
legitimate it looks, or whether it has the right logos in it. These businesses
are well aware of the rapid spread of phishing, and the last thing they would do
is confuse things by sending an email requesting your login details or for you
to confirm a password.
If in doubt, call your bank by looking up the
phone number - don't use any phone numbers included in the email - and ask them
if the email is legitimate. Never click on any links or URLs contained in the
email, don't reply to the email, don't acknowledge that you've received it -
just hit the delete button as fast as possible.
When you're visiting
websites, always be wary of supplying too much private information. Only supply
such information if you're sure it's a legitimate site that you've navigated to
by yourself, and there should be a locked padlock logo in the bottom of the
browser so you know the site is secure. Never enter this kind of information at
a website you've reached by clinking on an email link.
What Type of
Phishing Emails Can I get?
Phishing isn't just limited to financial
institutions. Many phishing scams imitate emails from eBay and well-known
stores. They may appear to be a special offer, suggesting you click on the link
to get a great deal on that particular item. The problem is that you'll end up
at a website designed to steal your information, not the store's website. If
you're especially interested in the deal being offered, call the store and ask
if it's a genuine offer before clicking on anything.
If you do receive a
suspicious email that you think is a phishing scam, it's always helpful to
notify the company that it appears to come from. Some businesses have specific
addresses for receiving phishing notifications, but many simply use
postmaster@theirURL. PayPal can be reached via spoof@paypal.com. You can also
report the scam to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, although this mainly
deals with the more threatening and widespread phishing scams.
The
important thing to remember is that you should never click on an email link
without checking with your bank first. It doesn't matter how dire the
consequences sound if you don't do it - that's all part of the scam. The more
vigilant we all are, the less people will fall for phishing scams, and the
better the chance that one day these criminals will give up and leave our
inboxes alone.
Phishing email scams to get your personal information
About the Author
Steve Dolan is an IT professional with over 25 years
experience in the industry. Find out how to protect yourself from phishing at
http://www.rspam.com/phishing and avoiding spam at www.rspam.com.