Internet Scam Series – Phishing

Ever get an email supposedly from a bank you do business with or one that you do not or a company you do business with stating your password has expired, please enter you old username and password and a new password to secure you account or something to that effect? 

How about am email to your PayPal account that takes you to a link that looks just like your real account? 

These and other things like it are called Phishing – pronounced fishing. A third party seeks to gain access to your account information so they can gain access to your fund and/or credit information either to deplete your funds or steal your identity. 

Technically this activity is defined as: a criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication 

Were many are mislead is it it not just by computer – you may get a phone call seeming perfectly legitimate requesting similar. This can occur using: 

•  Link manipulation
  
• Fiter evasion
  
• Website forgery
  
• Phone Phishing 
  

How do you protect yourself

• Never give out your credit card or bank information over the phone unless you called and verified who
• Never respond to a phone call or email with a link leading to a website requesting you change your account information
• Keep your antispyware software current and run weekly scans (min)
• Keep your antivirus software current and run weekly scans (min)
• Check the full header information of any email
• Call your bank or the business in question to verify call 

In January 2007, Jeffrey Brett Goodin of California became the first defendant convicted by a jury under the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. He was found guilty of sending thousands of e-mails to America Online users, while posing as AOL's billing department and is facing 101 years in Jail. 

If you want to learn more about Phishing here is a resource link