Phishing: What is it?

By Matt Williams

Phishing is more than just a funny word, it's a direct threat to your financial security and your identity. It's easy to fall victim to a phishing scam because the fraudsters behind the scam can easily mimic real financial institutions.

A phishing scam works by pretending to be a legitimate financial institution or some other business you might deal with such as eBay, PayPal, a bank, the government, or an internet service provider. An email or a pop up message will arrive from this institution asking you to verify your information. They may suggest your account will be closed if you don't take immediate action. When you click the provided link, you will be taken to a legitimate looking website where you will sign in using your user name and password.

Guess what? You weren't at your financial institution's website! You were at a phony website that looks just like it and you just gave away the key to unlocking your accounts! These phony websites are designed to trick you into entering your private data. They may ask for more than just your log on information, they may have you “confirm” your personal information including Social Security Number, mother's maiden name, your bank PIN number and more!

These counterfeit websites and their accompanying emails use tactics designed to startle you into action. “Your PayPal account will be suspended”, “Warning: Security Issues”, “Update your online banking records”, “CitiBank Alert Service,”, “Update your Verizon billing profile”, “Final notification of fraudulent account”, “Billing error”, “Online banking issue” and “Citibank ID Theft Solutions” are typical examples of the subject lines of phishing emails.

In many cases, the phishing emails pretend to be addressing phishing itself! Take the Citibank ID Theft Solutions subject line above as an example. In this scam, the sender pretends to be Citibank warning its customers of fraudulent ID theft attempts. The email instructs the recipient to safeguard their account. In order to do that, the recipient must update their Citibank ATM or debit card PIN. They say this is mandatory and if this step isn't done, the account will be suspended. The included link looks like a real Citibank web address but it has been spoofed. When you click the link, the real Citibank website opens but a small window (from the phisher) on top asks for your information. This is a particularly dangerous trick because the legitimate website underneath makes the victim feel reassured that they weren't scammed.

Many phishing emails will ask you to enter the information directly into the body of the email. The phishing emails that include links often cloak the links so that the URL looks legitimate but in truth it isn't.

The term “phishing” with the “ph” replacing the “f” shows its hacker's roots. In the 1970's, telephone hacking activities were called “Phone Phreaking”. Today, phishing can be thought of as fishing for financial information. Essentially, phishing should be thought of as a scam designed to con users out of their private information.

Phishing is on the rise and it's not uncommon to receive numerous phishing emails in your inbox. Remember that if in doubt, contact your financial institution directly by phone or by closing your browser, reopening it and directly typing in the web address on your own, (do not copy and paste or follow the emailed link). Chances are, you will be told your account is fine and that the email in your inbox is a fraud.

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