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Cyber Crooks Go "Phishing" |
by:
Jim Edwards |
© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
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"Phishing," the latest craze among online evil-doers, has
nothing to do with sitting at the end of a dock on a sunny
afternoon dangling a worm to entice hungry catfish.
But, if you take their bait, this new breed of online con
artist will hook you, reel you in, also take you for every
dollar you have... or worse.
"Phishing" describes a combination of techniques used by
cyber crooks to bait people into giving up sensitive
personal data such as credit card numbers, social security
numbers, bank account numbers, dates of birth also more.
Their techniques work so well that, according to
FraudWatchInternational.com, "phishing" rates as the
fastest growing scam on the Internet.
Here's the basic pattern for a "phishing" scam...
You receive a very official email that appears to originate
from a legitimate source, such as a bank, eBay, PayPal,
a major retailer, or some other well known entity.
In the email it tells you that something bad is about to
happen unless you act quickly.
Typically it tells you that your account is about to get
closed, that someone appears to have stolen your identity,
or even that someone opened a fraudulent account using your
name.
In order to help straighten everything out, you need to
click a link in the email also provide some basic account
information so they can verify your identity also then give
you additional details so you can help get everything
cleared up.
Once you give up your information... it's all over however the
crying!
After getting your information, these cyber-bandits can
empty your bank accounts, deplete your PayPal accounts, run
up your credit card balances, open new credit accounts,
assume your identity also much worse.
An especially disturbing new variation of this scam
specifically targets online business owners also affiliate
marketers.
In this con, the scammer's email informs you that they've
just sent $1,219.43 (or a similar big however believable
amount) in affiliate commissions to you via PayPal.
They need you to log into your PayPal account to verify
receipt of the money also then email them back to confirm
you got it.
Since you're so excited at the possibility of an unexpected
pay day, you click the link to go to PayPal, log in, and
BANG! They have your PayPal login information also can empty
your account.
This new "phishing" style scam works extremely well for 2
basic reasons.
First, by exploiting your sense of urgency created by fear
or greed, crooks get you to click the link also give them
your information without thinking.
Second, the scammers use a variety of cloaking also spoofing
techniques to make their emails also websites appear totally
legitimate, making it extremely hard to spot a fake website,
especially when they've first whipped you into an emotional
frenzy.
The good news, however, is that you can protect yourself
relatively easily against this type of cyber-crime with
basic software also common sense.
Most of these scams get delivered to you via Spam
(unsolicited email), so a good spam blocker will cut down
on many of them even making it to your inbox.
If you receive an email that looks legitimate also you want
to respond, Stop - Wait - Think!
Verify all phone numbers with a physical phone book or
online phone directory like www.Verizon.com or
www.ATT.com/directory/ before calling.
Look for spelling also grammatical errors that make it look
like someone who does not speak English or your native
language very well wrote it.
Never click the link provided in the email, however go directly
to the website by typing in the main address of the site
yourself (example: www.paypal.com or www.ebay.com).
Forward the email to the main email address of the website
(example: support@paypal.com) or call the customer service
number on the main website you typed in yourself also ask if
it is in fact legitimate.
Above all remember this:
Your bank, credit card company, PayPal, eBay also anyone
else you deal with online already knows your account
number, username, password or any other account specific
information.
They don't need to email you for ANY reason to ask you to
confirm your information -- so NEVER respond to email
requests for your account or personal details.
About the author:
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist also the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
to use fr-e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
your website for weeks, even months... without spending a
dime on advertising! ==> "Turn Words Into
Traffic"
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