What used to be a quiet, relaxing pastime is now a huge threat to internet users.
What looks like an innocent email from your bank is in fact an attempt from an organized crime syndicate to obtain your personal information.
This can very quickly empty your bank account, steal your PC data and even get you a criminal record.
So how can we avoid it? Phishing is a computer based fraud used by criminals for dishonestly obtaining sensitive information such as passwords and credit card details.
They do this by pretending to be a trustworthy person or organisation.
The fraudsters typically use email or instant messaging as the method for contacting the unsuspecting individual although the phone has been used as well.
The term phishing is a variant of fishing - meaning that someone is ‘fishing’ for information usually to carry out some form of identity theft.
How to recognise phishing An attempt to phish information is usually carried out by email and will appear to be from a trusted person or organisation (such as a bank or credit card company).
Most methods of phishing use some form of technical trickery designed to make a link in an email appear to belong to a genuine organisation.
A misspelt web address is a common trick used by phishers, such as this example URL: [http://www.
yourbank.
com.
example.
com/] Such links then take the unsuspecting individual to a ‘spoof’ website which is made to look like the legitimate web page but is actually located on another server under control of the fraudster.
The intention is to fool people into thinking that they are connected to a trusted site, for instance to collect user names and passwords.
Your bank (or any other legitimate organisation) will never ask for personal information in this way.
If you are asked for personal information, do not hand it over! How to avoid becoming a victim of phishing Here are some Do’s and Don’ts that could help you to avoid phishing, Do:
What looks like an innocent email from your bank is in fact an attempt from an organized crime syndicate to obtain your personal information.
This can very quickly empty your bank account, steal your PC data and even get you a criminal record.
So how can we avoid it? Phishing is a computer based fraud used by criminals for dishonestly obtaining sensitive information such as passwords and credit card details.
They do this by pretending to be a trustworthy person or organisation.
The fraudsters typically use email or instant messaging as the method for contacting the unsuspecting individual although the phone has been used as well.
The term phishing is a variant of fishing - meaning that someone is ‘fishing’ for information usually to carry out some form of identity theft.
How to recognise phishing An attempt to phish information is usually carried out by email and will appear to be from a trusted person or organisation (such as a bank or credit card company).
Most methods of phishing use some form of technical trickery designed to make a link in an email appear to belong to a genuine organisation.
A misspelt web address is a common trick used by phishers, such as this example URL: [http://www.
yourbank.
com.
example.
com/] Such links then take the unsuspecting individual to a ‘spoof’ website which is made to look like the legitimate web page but is actually located on another server under control of the fraudster.
The intention is to fool people into thinking that they are connected to a trusted site, for instance to collect user names and passwords.
Your bank (or any other legitimate organisation) will never ask for personal information in this way.
If you are asked for personal information, do not hand it over! How to avoid becoming a victim of phishing Here are some Do’s and Don’ts that could help you to avoid phishing, Do:
- treat all email with suspicion.
What you see in the email body can be forged, the sender's address or return address can be forged, and the email header can also be manipulated to disguise its true origin
- scrutinise your bank, credit and debit card statements and ensure that all transactions are legitimate.
If anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers immediately
- ensure that all of your software is up to date
- ensure that you have adequate insurance against fraud if you use your financial information on-line
- use a link in an email to get to any web page.
If you must go there, type the web address directly into your browser's address bar
- send your personal or financial information to anyone via email
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