Phishing : A Online Theft

Hey guys, today we are going to talk about Phishing. 

Phishing (pronounced "fishing") is a type of online identity theft. It uses email and fraudulent websites that are designed to steal your personal data or information such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information.

Millions of fraudulent email messages with links to fraudulent websites that appear to come from websites you trust, like your bank or credit card company, and request that you provide personal information comes in your mailbox. Criminals can use this information for many different types of fraud, such as to steal money from your account, to open new accounts in your name, or to obtain official documents using your identity.

What to do when you thinks that you're targeted :- 

If you suspect that you've responded to a phishing scam with personal or financial information, take these steps to minimize any damage and protect your identity.

1. Change the passwords or PINs on all your online accounts that you think might be compromised.
2. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports. Check with your bank or financial advisor if you're not sure how to do this.
3. Contact the bank or the online merchant directly. Do not follow the link in the fraudulent email message.
4. If you know of any accounts that were accessed or opened fraudulently, close those accounts.
5. Routinely review your bank and credit card statements monthly for unexplained charges or inquiries that you didn't initiate.

How to check website's true identity


In Internet Explorer, the domain name in the address bar is emphasized with black type and the remainder of the address appears gray to make it easy to identify a website's true identity.

Check the email Carefully

A phishing email may claim to be from a legitimate company and when you click the link to the website, it may look exactly like the real website. Sometimes, the link may lead you to the privacy policy of the legitimate company or some irrelevant pages. The email may ask you to fill in the information but the email may not contain your name. Most phishing emails will start with “Dear Customer” so you should be alert when you come across these emails. You should know that a legitimate company will not send spam emails. The email may contain the names of fictional personnel who supposedly work in the legitimate company. For instance, you may have received an email from Mr. Carey Parker who’s the CEO at some big company telling you that you have won $3 million. If you want to find out if there’s really such a person working in such a company, you can contact the real company directly. Don’t call the number which is provided in the email. These emails may have an alert notice for a quick response but you must know that it’s just another ploy to get vital information.

Never Enter Financial or Personal Information

Most of the phishing emails will direct you to pages where entries for financial or personal information are required. An Internet user should never make confidential entries through the links provided in the emails.

Identify a Fake Phone Call

Phone phishing is the method in which a phone call is made to the user for the purpose of stealing personal information. For instance, the user may be asked to provide financial details for the refund of money to an account. The phone call may come from a number which appears legitimate but the area code in the phone call can be modified using VOIP  technology.

Protection through Software

Anti-spyware and firewall settings should be used to prevent phishing attacks and users should update the programs regularly. Firewall protection prevents access to malicious files by blocking the attacks. Antivirus software scans every file which comes through the Internet to your computer. It helps to prevent damage to your system.

Never Send Personal Information through emails

Never send an email with sensitive information to anyone. Make it a habit to check the address of the website. A secure website always starts with “https” or a lock before the url

Check Bank Details Regularly

To prevent bank phishing and credit card phishing scams, you should personally check your statements regularly. Get monthly statements for your financial accounts and check each and every entry carefully to ensure no fraudulent transactions have been made without your knowledge.

Never Download Files from Unreliable Sources

If you get a message stating a certain website may contain malicious files, do not open the website. Web browsers provide settings to prevent access to malicious web pages and when you try to access a malicious site, an alert message will appear. Never download files from suspicious emails or websites. Even search engines may show certain links which may lead users to a phishing webpage which offers low cost products. If the user makes purchases at such a website, the credit card details will be accessed by the phishers.