I have had a couple of scammers attempt to get me on this, so I think I need to pass it along.
[tag]Phishing[/tag] is when a scammer sets up a phony website using legitimate company logos and tries to direct you to that site usually via email. They normally will send you an [tag]email[/tag] with a link appearing to go to the legitimate site, but it will actually lead you to their phony site.
Once at their phony site, you will be asked to provide sensitive personal information. They typically go after your username, passwords, account numbers, SS numbers, credit card numbers, and pin numbers.
A few things that are usually tell-tale signs that you are being phished:
- There will always be a sense of urgency to the email they are sending. They will want you to respond immediately or something BAD will happen.
- There may be spelling or grammatical errors. These guys usually didn’t pay attention in English class; they were out robbing old ladies.
- The link may take you to a slightly different website than what it says. Rather than Citibank.com, it may take you to Cit1bank.com. Most people don’t pay close attention.
- The email may not be addressed to you.
How to beat the phishers
- Do not email important personal or financial information. Email is not quite as private as some may think.
- Think twice about opening emails from unknown sources.
- If you do receive any email requesting personal information do not reply or click any links in the email.
- If you are unsure of the validity of an email, type the company’s web address directly into your browser or call the company directly.
- Use virus protection software.
What else?
- If you think you may have given your information to scammers, contact the company they posed as in the email. They may already be aware of the scam, but be sure to let them know immediately.
- You can forward suspicious emails to spam@uce.gov and you can file complaints with the FTC at FTC.gov.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m glad you posted this info.
It is amazing the number and variety of phishing emails I receive.
A few additional tips. Hover over the link in the email and look in the bottom of your browser for the underlying hyper link. Often it will be entirely different than the text.
In some cases, it will take you to a subdomain …e.g. paypal.us.blahblah.com. If you were to go there, you would find a knock-off of the official site where they will gladly capture your login info and whatever other information they can con you into submitting.
Peel the URL back to the main domain – in this example blahblah.com and enter it into your address bar (if you dare!) Chances are you will arrive at a site in Russia, Denmark, Middle East, etc.
Wherever it lands, its nowhere you want to be!
Its an ugly world out there. Take care!
hth
Bruce
http://christiansoldiersonline.org
Bruce, thanks for the tips – this is good additional information.
I like your topic and the cartoons you use! I may just draw some cartoons related to PF on my blog