Phishing Scams

Anyone that gets online knows that there are many threats on the Internet. A phishing scam is no different, as it's a theft scam that is initiated with email contact. These scamming emails come into the inbox of unsuspecting people and they look as though they are from a legitimate business that you already have an account with such as financial organizations, banks, Paypal, even eBay. The email usually will ask the recipient to update their personal information so that the company can update their database. Having a link that the recipient will click on will usually carry out the scam. This link will take the reader to a legitimate looking website. The unsuspecting reader will then update his or her personal information not knowing that they have just given all of their personal information to a phisher or scam artist.

Phishing scams are one of the fastest growing problems on the Internet and many people are falling victim to this type of scam every day. Phishing scams have resulted in people giving up information such as passwords, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, ATM pin numbers, social security numbers, even the mother's maiden name used to secure a handful of accounts. Unfortunately, firewalls or virus protection programs do not generally block these emails as the emails don't contain any suspicious code that would call attention to them. Spam filters also o not catch the emails because the emails all appear to come from legitimate sources.

Because there are not ways to block these emails, its easy to see why scammers and hackers use the phishing methods. Phishers are smart in that they focus on using legitimate companies and are able to imitate their website and emails when they request that people update accounts or provide personal information. Companies such as American Online, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, eBay, PayPal, Best Buy, Washington Mutual, Comcast, and MSN have all been the targets of scammers in the past.

Because we are all familiar with these big names, we'll usually trust emails or requests for information that come from them. The scammers are able to produce fake websites that look just like the real thing right down to the submenu titles, disclaimer, copyright notices, and other details big and small. Sometimes the only tell tale sign of fraud is the web address. Small differences will be hard to spot unless you are looking for them. For example, phishers will use a number one instead of a lower case L, like paypa1.com instead of paypal.com, which is a very subtle difference.

The actual term phishing came from the fact that web scammers are using different methods to fish for the personal information and data of unsuspecting people. The best way to avoid phishing scams is to be careful when you receive emails that are asking for personal information, updates of personal data, or other requests that you are not accustomed to getting. One should also try not to provide any personal information just because an email asks one to do so. You should be able to check the company's website, not by link, or even call the company to ask why they would need information updated.

Here are some easy points which help you to avoid phishing:

• If you receive any email asking you to update your personal billing information try not to reply or click on any links in the email body.
• Check for misspelled words or any other mistakes in the links URL or company website name.
• If you think the email is a legitimate one, call the company's customer service department and verify it before providing any personal information in the site.
• If you believe that it is a legitimate mail, before you provide any sensitive information in the website check for the "lock" icon on the browser's status bar. This is to ensure that the information is secure during transmission.
• If you unknowingly supplied any information, contact your credit card provider and bank without any delay.
• You cn forward any suspicious emails to uce@ftc.gov

In the end, only close attention to detail can help prevent making you a victim of phishing scams. If in doubt, contact your company by phone to inquire about database updates and the need for your personal information.