|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Cyber Crooks Go Phishing
"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, and 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 and 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 and provide some basic account information so they can verify your identity and then give you additional details so you can help get everything cleared up. Once you give up your information... it's all over but 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 and much worse. An especially disturbing new variation of this scam specifically targets online business owners and affiliate marketers. In this con, the scammer's email informs you that they've just sent $1,219.43 (or a similar big but believable amount) in affiliate commissions to you via PayPal. They need you to log into your PayPal account to verify receipt of the money and 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 and 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 and give them your information without thinking. Second, the scammers use a variety of cloaking and spoofing techniques to make their emails and 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 and 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 and 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 and grammatical errors that make it look like someone who doesn't speak English or your native language very well wrote it. Never click the link provided in the email, but 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 and ask if it is in fact legitimate. Above all remember this: Your bank, credit card company, PayPal, eBay and 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 and 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... Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links? "Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> http://www.TurnWordsIntoTraffic.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Delete Cookies: New-Age Diet or Common Sense Internet Security? No, this article isn't about some new, lose-20-pounds-in-a-week, certified-by-some-tan-Southern-California-doctor diet. It's about cookies on your computer - what they are, why they are there, and what to do about them. Computer cookies actually have quite a bit in common with their baked counterparts - some are good, some are bad, and they have expiration dates. Identity Theft ? Beware of Phishing Attacks! "Dear Bank of the West customer", the message begins. I've just received an e-mail message, purportedly from the security department at the Bank of the West. The message explains that certain features of my account have been suspended due to "suspicious activity" on my account. The message then provides a link that I can follow in order to fill out an online form confirming my identity. It's certainly nice that Bank of the West is worried about the status of my account. There's just one problem ? I don't have an account at Bank of the West. In fact, I've never even heard of Bank of the West. Arming Yourself Against Spyware While clicking from site to site on the internet you are likely to land yourself on a website that downloads spyware onto your computer system. Even while using familiar or unlikely and secure web site you run the risk of being infected with unwanted spyware. Most commonly, spyware detects and records your internet and computer usage information so advertisers can bombard you with pop ups and email ads they feel are appropriate to your interests. More malicious spyware applications can identify, record and send to intruders your credit card, bank account and social security information to intruders who use it for identity theft. Protection for Your PC - Painless and Free! Viruses, Bugs, Worms, Dataminers, Spybots, and Trojan horses. The Internet is a veritable minefield of things that can invade your PC and affect it's Security and Performance. Online Shopping: 10 Tips For Safe Online Shopping Have you ever bought a product or service from the internet? Internet Small Business and Fraud Be careful of sites that promise to send you "instant pins". These companies usually have lax credit card security and can afford customer charge backs from fraudulent transactions. Instant gratification, so coveted by our lifestyles, is something to be very wary of in the realm of online business. Information Security for E-businessmen: Just a Couple of Ideas If you constantly deal with bank or electronic accounts, it must beyour worst nightmare--to wake up and learn that you are a bankrupt.Some crook stole your personal data and all the money you have beensweating blood for years has flown to somebody else's account. Almosteverybody must have heard that such a tradegy is called identity theftand millions of people in the USA alone suffer the same every year.Poor consolation for its victims, isn't it? Online Cell Phone Scams and Spam They're out there. Individuals trying to make a quick buck at your expense. You labour hours on end to produce quality content on your website only to get repetitive requests for huge numbers of product or promises for the greatest deals online. As a webmaster for a cell phone and PDA site, I've had my share of spam and scams come through, mostly via email, some posted on my forum. The purpose of this article is to provide a few methods of detecting spam and scams, and provide a few examples as well. Take a look over and protect yourself from online cellular fraud. Free Ways to Tackle Threats to Your Computer Protect Your PC Watching the Watchers: Detection and Removal of Spyware If spyware were a person and he set himself up in yourhouse, you are likely going to do one of two things. You'llkick him out yourself or you'll call someone (such as thepolice) to do it for you. Desktop Security Software Risks - Part 1 This is the second in a series of articles highlighting reasons why we need a new model for anti-virus and security solutions. How To Clean the Spies In Your Computer? Manual Spy Bot Removal > BookedSpace If You Sell Anything Online Your ePockets Are Being Picked You and I are a lot alike. We are both software publishers and eBook authors getting hosed on a regular basis. You and I, my friend, are victims of software piracy that accounted for over $24 BILLION dollars in lost revenue over the last two years*. There are so many ways people can get your product for free these days. If we continue doing nothing we will lose even more money this year as potential customers become more and more aware of just how easy it is to obtain digital products without paying for them. Computer Security What is computer security?Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done. DOS Attacks: Instigation and Mitigation During the release of a new software product specialized to track spam, ACME SoftwareInc notice that there was not as much traffic as they hoped to receive. During furtherinvestigation, they found that they could not view their own website. At that moment, theVP of sales received a call from the company's broker stating that ACME Software Incstock fell 4 point due to lack of confidence. Several states away, spammers didn't like theidea of lower profit margins do to an easy to install spam blocking software so theythought they would fight back. Earlier that day, they took control of hundreds ofcompromised computers and used them as DoS zombies to attack ACME Software Inc'sInternet servers in a vicious act of cyber assault. During an emergency press conferencethe next morning, ACME Software Inc's CIO announced his resignation as a result of aseveral million dollar corporate loss. Spyware Removal Spyware Solution 3 Pervasive Phishing Scams Scams involving email continue to plague consumers across America, indeed the world. These so called "phishing" scams involve "spoofed" emails meant to draw the unwary to bogus internet sites masquerading as legitimate sites. These scam artists -- phishers -- attempt to hook visitors in by having them divulge certain critical and personal bits of information. Once the information has been divulged the phishers start their dirty work and you have been conned. Several phishing scams continue to persist, the following are three of the most pervasive ones. Cyber Crooks Go Phishing "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. Protect Your Little Black Book The movie Little Black Book features a young woman, Stacy, who is frustrated when her boyfriend refuses to share information about his past relationships. When his PDA, a Palm Tungsten C, falls into her hands, she is faced with a conundrum. Does she give it back, or does she explore it? If she gave it back, we wouldn't have a movie, now would we? Stacy then proceeds to identify his ex-girlfriends and contact them. Let the games begin. Five Excellent Indie Encryption And Security Solutions You Have Not Heard About 1. Geek Superherohttp://www.deprice.com/geeksuperhero.htm
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
