Anindita Mishra
Cybermum, McAfee India Like any other parent, Anindita wants to make sure that her children are safe wherever ...
This morning I received another of those “You have won a lottery!” mails.
This made me realize that cyber criminals will continue to try baiting unsuspecting net users, and so I should periodically remind my readers to how to stay off the Scammers net. So let’s talk about “Phishing” today.
What is Phishing?
According to McAfee Security Tips, “Phishing are scams that attempt to acquire confidential information such as credit card numbers, personal identity data, and passwords by sending out emails that look like they come from real companies or trusted individuals.”
The common phishing mails usually involve communications regarding the winning of a lottery; the imminent closure of bank account; order confirmation; verification of billing information and return of excess payments made to the tax dept.
Usually scammers send the mails to many victims, whose e-mail ids they might have harvested from the net, hoping that at least some will fall prey to their trap and click on a malicious link or open a malicious attachment.
I have provided snapshots of two very common types of phishing mail, courtesy Hoax-slayer:
Citibank Member,
This email was sent by the Citibank server to verify your e-mail address. You must complete this process by clicking on the link below and entering in the small window your Citibank ATM/Debit Card number and PIN that you use on ATM. This is done for your protection – because some of our members no longer have access to their email addresses and we must verify it.
To verify your e-mail address and access your bank account, click on the link below. If nothing happens when you click on the link (or if you use AOL), copy and paste the link into the address bar of your web browser.
[LINK REMOVED]
Thank you for using Citibank!
Dear MSN Customer,
During one of our regular automatical verification procedures we’ve encountered a technical problem caused by the fact that we could not verify the information that you provided during registration.
We urgently ask you to submit your information so that we could fully verify your identify, otherwise an access to MSN services for your account will be deactivated until you pass verification process.
To submit your information please use our secure online application – apply here (LINK REMOVED).
Thank you for using our services, MSN Payment Processing Department.
Watch out for these signs of a phishing mail, courtesy Microsoft Safety & Security Center:
Ever wondered what scammers do with your information?
If you receive a suspicious message that looks like a phishing mail:
What if you accidentally get “phished”?
How to safeguard yourself against phishing attacks
For further details, please visit:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/citibank-phisher-scam.html
http://www.mcafee.com/us/mcafee-labs/resources/security-tips-13-ways-to-protect-system.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/phishing-symptoms.aspx
Tags: hoax - slayer, phishing scams, stay safe from phishing, types of phishing
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