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{The term Phishing
means someone is sending you an email claiming to be
from a trusted Business or internet site when in fact
they are not from the site they claim. They are trying
to trick you into going to the site they have setup in
order to convince you to give them confidential
information which they will then use to defraud you are
others}
Phishing Scams Continue to Plague Internet
Phishing scams, along with spyware, adware and
viruses, continue to plague internet users around the
country. According to a recent survey by Websense, Inc.,
the number of phishing scams grew from 221 to 1,518 in
the period between July and November alone.
Unlike the annoying spam emails hawking exercise
equipment and black market Viagara, phishing emails can
really hurt you. Falling victim to a phishing expedition
can cost you thousands of dollars and give the thieves
access to all of your personal information. Recovering
from one of these attacks can be extremely costly in
terms of both time and money.
In recent months, the perpetrators of phishing scams
have begun to automate their financial scams. These
elaborate hoaxes often launch a legitimate site like
eBay, Paypal or Citibank, along with a popup window
created by the scam artists. This popup window is then
used to capture information and record keystrokes. This
allows the internet criminal to gather such sensitive
personal information as the victim's Social Security
number, bank account number and credit card numbers.
While the credit card numbers and bank account numbers
are valuable to the scam artists, and their victims may
quickly find their bank accounts drained and their
credit cards maxed, it is the Social Security numbers
that the scam artists are really targeting.
There are literally hundreds of sites on the internet
where Social Security numbers are bought and sold. This
valuable information is used as currency by identity
thieves around the world to establish credit, take out
loans and create credit accounts in the victim's name.
Often the victims of identity theft do not even know
they have been victimized until they are turned down a
credit card, mortgage or other loan.
As any victim of identity theft can tell you, it can
take years to clean up the mess identity thieves leave
in their wake. Clearing your good name and notifying
your creditors you have been victimized can take
hundreds or even thousands of hours, and lots of money
as well.
You may be asking why internet service provides,
software manufacturers and the government have not been
able to make a dent in the phishing phenomenon. Some
headway has been made, but phishing scam artists
continue to stay a step ahead, communicating information
on each new security vulnerability they find. As more
and more security vulnerabilities are discovered, the
threat continues to grow. Internet service providers and
technology companies are working hard to combat this
growing threat.
Many security experts recommend using an alternative
browser such as Firefox. While this is certainly a good
first step, it may not be sufficient to eliminate the
problem posed by phishing, spyware, adware and email
viruses.
It is essential that internet users be proactive in
protecting themselves against the threats they encounter
while online. While email is an important tool for
communication, any unsolicited emails, even if they
appear to be from a legitimate source, should be viewed
with a level of suspicion. Always remember that your
bank will not need to verify your Social Security
number, account number or other sensitive information.
Likewise, eBay and other online auction sites will not
need to request your userid and password. They will
already have this information.
If you are unsure or uneasy about providing information
solicited in an email, always call the sender to verify
the communication. If the email is legitimate, you can
put your mind at ease. If the email is a phishing
attempt, you will avoid being victimized and give the
bank advance notice that they are being targeted. Taking
these common sense steps can prevent you from falling
victim to these increasingly sophisticated scams. |
