A phishing scam is an identity theft scam that arrives via email. The email appears to come from a legitimate source, such as a trusted business or financial institution, and includes an urgent request for personal information, often invoking a critical need to update an account immediately. Clicking on a link provided in the email takes you to an official-looking website. However, personal information provided on this website goes directly to the scammer.
Phishing scams often target personal information, such as your social security number.
Fraud is a growing problem on the Internet, as people are tricked into providing personal information, including credit card numbers, passwords, mother’s maiden name, bank account numbers, ATM passwords, and phone numbers. social Security. Virus protectors and firewalls miss most phishing scams because they don’t contain suspicious code, while spam filters let them through because they appear to come from legitimate sources.
Computer viruses can be part of a phishing scam.
Links included in phishing scams take the unsuspecting person to a fraudulent website designed to mimic the real thing, often down to the smallest detail, including copyright notices, sub-menu titles, etc. It’s virtually impossible for most people to know they are a phisher’s target just by looking at the site. However, clues in the address can sometimes reveal deception.
Phishing scams may attempt to obtain credit card information for fraudulent purchases.
Look-alike characters can be replaced in the link spelling with the actual character, so that a “1” (number one) is used instead of a lowercase “L”. For example, the phishers used paypa1.com instead of paypal.com. Other times, an IP address (a numeric address) is used to hide the fact that the link does not take the victim to the real website. However, phishing scams have become so sophisticated that it can also appear that the phishers are using legitimate links, including the actual website’s security certificate.
The best way to protect yourself from phishing scams is to avoid providing personal information in an email request. If the request is legitimate, the company’s customer service department should be called to verify the request before providing any information; any phone number contained in the email, if any, should not be used. Even if the request is legitimate, the required address should be manually entered into the browser instead of clicking on a link, as a phishing scam can run alongside legitimate businesses.
For example, in early April 2005, a mass email that appeared to be from Microsoft Corporation urged recipients to download a long-awaited security update. Those who clicked on the link in the email were directed to a site that looked like a legitimate Microsoft update site. However, instead of updating the software, they were actually downloading a Trojan horse, a remote access program that can steal personal information. Microsoft does not use email notification in this way, but many users have been caught off guard.
The famous “letter from Nigeria” was another type of phishing scam. This type of scam is so common that it has its own name: 419 scam. The phisher poses as a distressed Nigerian officer and demands a US bank account to download money. The person who allowed temporary use of his account would receive a handsome reward. Instead, those who provided their banking information become victims of theft.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other institutions have focused on public education to combat phishing scams, as phishing is difficult to catch. Scam sites operate for very short periods of time and the scams often take place in other countries. In March 2005, Microsoft filed 117 phishing lawsuits in the Western District of Washington with unnamed defendants.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is an international organization of volunteers working to track down phishing scams. Their website maintains an online database of fraudulent emails that are sent to them. You can check this site for new scams or send them any phishing email you receive. The APWG is very much an information clearinghouse, but it does provide links to consumer resources. The FTC also has tips for consumers, an email address to report phishing, on its website.
The so-called Nigerian scam is believed to have originated in the African nation in the 1970s.
