|
|
| Avoid being a victim of Phishing |
Phishing is a technique used to gain personal information for purposes of identity theft, using fraudulent e-mail messages that appear to come from genuine identities. It can be described as a type of scam that has been around for years and in fact predates computers.
Malicious crackers did it over the phone for years and called it social engineering. What is new is its contemporary means of delivery — spam and faked Web pages.
Phishing (sometimes called carding or brand spoofing) uses e-mail messages that purport to come from legitimate businesses that one might have dealings with — banks, online organizations, Internet service providers, online retailers, and insurance agencies. The messages may look quite authentic, featuring corporate logos and formats similar to the ones used for legitimate messages.
Typically, they ask for verification of certain information, such as account numbers and passwords, allegedly for auditing purposes.
|
|