• Home
• Archives
• Contact
• Copyright

The Internet is large. It is too large in fact - making it incredibly easy for criminals to scam you and your fellow surfers out of your credit card numbers and personal information. All it takes is a computer and a power outlet and a scammer can start taking people’s money. This is one of the primary reasons why phishing has become such a prominent problem in recent years.

Phishing, simply put, is the process by which scammers send out fake emails and set up fake websites where they will ask you for personal and financially sensitive information. You likely receive these all the time. They will come to your Inbox in the form of a letter from your bank or a “privacy” notice from an online account. They will ask you to login from the email or confirm a detail by clicking on a link.

When you click on that link, you do not actually go to your bank’s website though. Instead, you are taken to a front, where the phisher has created a fake website designed to look exactly like your bank. When you log in to the fake website, the phisher records your login information, sends you to the real website and makes away with your bank account details - or any other online account you may have given your login information away for.

This can lead to your entire identity being stolen from you and used with ill intent to get fake loans, credit cards, or other things that will ruin your credit and your reputation and possibly take years to repair.

Avoiding Phishers

There are many things you can do to keep from being phished and having your personal information stolen. The most obvious and first thing you should do is to ignore any emails that arrive from your bank or any other personal institutions. No matter what you see in an email - whether it is logos, numbers, contact details, or HTML - you should ignore it. Businesses know the risks that are associated with online scam artists and will never send you confusing emails asking for your login or to confirm anything.

If you feel it still might be real, call your bank or the company from which it is supposedly from and confirm the information there. Never click on any links in the email either. If you want to check a “message” you supposedly got in your bank’s Inbox, directly log into your bank account by entering the URL manually and checking your Inbox.

Never supply too much personal information on a website. You should never need to give over a social security number or credit card number unless the security precautions are in place to protect them. Look for SSL protection and a padlock on the bottom of your browser to tell you the site is secure. In addition, many browsers are instituting new technology to tell you when a site is not legitimate.

By being vigilant and prepared for the worst, you can avoid most phishing attempts and feel safer while surfing online.

Comments

No comments yet.

Leave a comment