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Phishing Scams Take a Sophisticated Turn
Phishing is an attempt to steal personal information
by sending emails that appear to come from reputable
sources, such as financial institutions, credit
card companies, online merchants or federal regulatory
agencies. As phishing scams grow in number and
sophistication, even the most Internet-savvy consumers
can get hooked.
Due to advances in technology, fraudulent emails
often look believable. They may include graphics
stolen from legitimate websites and have spoofed
"from"
addresses to make them appear to be reputable.
You can no longer easily detect fraud through
off-the-wall sender addresses and emails rife
with misspellings.
Most phishing emails reel in respondents by demanding
immediate action or else:
- Their accounts will be cancelled or suspended.
- Unwarranted charges will be posted to their
credit cards.
- They will no longer be able to access the
site in question.
Some, ironically, request account verification
due to an increase in identity theft.
Requests for personal information are often right
in the graphics of the email, or there is a link
included to direct consumers to the sender¹s
website. The link accesses a phony webpage with
a similar address to the real site (example: www.secure.ebay.com).
This site looks nearly identical to the actual
site for that institution. It includes a login
box or other requests for personal information.
Your user name and password are all that the
crooks need to take over your accounts. But sometimes
they are so bold as to request items such as your
Social Security numbers, birth date or credit
card verification codes.
The most commonly spoofed sites are those of:
Credit card companies: Visa, MasterCard, American
Express
Banks: Capital one, Citibank, SunTrust, Bank of
America, Fleet Bank ISPs
Online merchants: eBay, PayPal, AOL, Earthlink
But there are many
others as well.
If you receive an email requesting account verification
or other personal information, take the following
steps:
- Do not respond to the request. Companies will
not ask you to verify this information online.
- Do not click on the link in the email. Even
looking at the link out of curiosity could allow
the crooks to send viruses or spy software to
your computer.
- If you¹re worried the message may be
legitimate, close the email and log on to your
account the way you usually do. Or call the
company at a verified number.
- Forward fraudulent emails to the company in
question. (Most frequently phished companies
now have fraud alert sections on their websites.)
And report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission
at spam@uce.gov.
This can help them shut down the illegal sites
and prosecute the crooks.
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