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Phishing? Do you mean ‘fishing’? Undeniable, both of the terms have the same pronunciation but meanings. Most of the people do not know what phishing is and some might heard about phishing but do not know how it works. Hence, the objective of this post is to tell more and let the readers learn more about phishing. Generally, phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. (Reference: Webopedia, Definition of Phishing [Online], Retrieved on 3rd March 2010, URL: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/phishing.html) Why is it called phishing? The term phishing is given as Internet scammers are using e-mail lures or as a bait to ‘fish’ for passwords, financial and personal data from the ‘sea’ of the Internet users.
How does phishing works?
Typically, it is considered as phishing when an email from a legitimate organization is directed to the user and gives a link to request the user to visit a website where they are asked to update their personal information such as passwords, bank account numbers, social security and credit card details. However, the website is a just a bogus website that is set up only to steal the users’ information.
Ways to protect yourself from being phished
1. Don’t give out information the company should have
Companies will never simply ask for sensitive information through Internet which they already have such as usernames, credit card numbers and passwords but phishers will. So, do not simply fill in forms that ask for sensitive information.
2. Keep Your Email and Instant Message Addresses Private
To keep yourself safe from the phishers, you have to first prevent them from landing in your email inbox. Make yourself different email addresses for your trusted friends, and family, one for financial institution and one for general use. Many of the email providers will allow users to redirect emails from each of these different addresses to one account to minimize the inconvenience of checking each account.
3. If you are in doubt:
How does phishing works?
Typically, it is considered as phishing when an email from a legitimate organization is directed to the user and gives a link to request the user to visit a website where they are asked to update their personal information such as passwords, bank account numbers, social security and credit card details. However, the website is a just a bogus website that is set up only to steal the users’ information.
Ways to protect yourself from being phished
1. Don’t give out information the company should have
Companies will never simply ask for sensitive information through Internet which they already have such as usernames, credit card numbers and passwords but phishers will. So, do not simply fill in forms that ask for sensitive information.
2. Keep Your Email and Instant Message Addresses Private
To keep yourself safe from the phishers, you have to first prevent them from landing in your email inbox. Make yourself different email addresses for your trusted friends, and family, one for financial institution and one for general use. Many of the email providers will allow users to redirect emails from each of these different addresses to one account to minimize the inconvenience of checking each account.
3. If you are in doubt:
i) Immediately Report Suspected Phishing Contacts
If you suspect that the email which you receive is a phishing scam, report the case immediately by forwarding the email to reportphishing@antiphsihing.org or spam@uce.gov. Besides, almost every bank or credit card lender has their own website where allows customers to report suspicious emails and instant messages.
ii) Call the company directly
You can also call the company’s customer service phone number straight away to confirm if the email is from the company itself.
(Reference: cnet.reviews official website, How to avoid phishing scams [Online], Retrieved on 3rd Macrch 2010 URL: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3000_7-6459186-1.html)
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