In today's world of Internet is becoming as common as sliced ??bread. Most people use it to send e-mails, seeking information, banking and shopping. It should not be a surprise that some people are adopting the technology for less than kosher purposes. Phishing scams, in particular, are a major concern. Fortunately, if you want to avoid being the next victim of identity theft, there are ways to protect themselves from harm.
What exactly is phishing (pronounced "fishing")? Phishers use email, check the kidnapping and scare tactics to catch people off guard uninformed and steal your private information. Usually these scammers operate by sending lots of spam to a long list of recipients. Each message is made to look as if it is a trusted company such as eBay or a large bank.
The second e-mail involves an appeal to their emotions. To achieve this goal, the sender claims that there is a problem or crisis that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. The e-mails using the language of urgency, professionals, and request personal information. You may even direct you to a fake page where you will be prompted to enter the information requested.
If you visit the fake website, may appear to be authentic, and often the real URL is still masked to hide the fact that the site is not legitimate. The website asks you to provide confidential information to solve the "problem" that may include social security numbers, account numbers, passwords and other sensitive information. Phishers basis of their attempts in the hope that a few fish in the sea are led to believe Page e-mail and web to be genuine, and hand over their personal information, without realizing their mistake - until it is too late.
Unfortunately, phishers are starting to employ more insidious tactics such as planting spyware virus to try to get your personal information. Often, these viruses are designed to lie dormant until they can take away your sensitive data. Once the virus is in your system, your Internet activities are controlled so that when you visit a particular site (which requires you to log, for example), the virus acts and either diverted to a fraudulent site or records keystrokes and the corresponding passwords, account numbers and other information. If you do not have antivirus software and spyware protection, spyware getting a virus is a very real threat.
In the face of increased phishing scams, we must learn to avoid, if possible. But there is good news. You can avoid being a victim of phishing by following a few simple measures:
Be informed on the websites of spam e-mails and false is one of the best ways to protect yourself from falling victim to a phishing attempt. If you know what to look out and can recognize the key factors in fraudulent emails, you will be able to maintain its identity as safe as possible. For example, spam messages may contain the company logo and looks official, but when you look closely, there are several warning signs that fraudsters can give away. Sometimes e-mails have misspellings or language does not sound quite right. But the best indicator is the request itself - legitimate companies never ask you to verify your account or send your bank account information by e-mail. If you want to make sure everything is safe with your account, simply go to the website (without clicking any links in suspicious e-mail) and go directly to see things, or call to confirm the identity of the sender and truth of the application. Do not send the information online.
Second, do not get scared by the urgency of an e-mail or feel under pressure to respond immediately without thinking twice. Scare tactics are common when it comes to phishing, as a means to extract private information of innocent people. Often, e-mail stating that your account be closed until you provide the necessary data, but in reality, organizations do not conduct business that way. Again, if you are concerned about your account, call the institution directly to verify the matter.
A generic e-mail request is another indicator of a phishing scam. Because scammers often send spam to a large number of people, who send e-mails are often not personalized. Authentic e-mails coming from the bank or official organization to include your name.
Never click on a link in an email. Always visit the site on your own, writing in the web browser and access it directly. That will ensure you arrive at a legitimate site, when you can go and check the status of your account.
And never send confidential information to the sender to fill out a form present in the e-mail. Again, use your common sense and send the information by phone or by visiting the website directly.
When entering credit card numbers and other important data online through a website, make sure the site is authentic and uses encryption to protect information. You can verify this by looking for a "Locked" icon in the corner of your browser. The web address should also begin with "https" instead of "http".
But beware: some phishing sites to fake lock icons on their websites. For the inexperienced Internet users, this could be an effective trick. To avoid falling into this trap, make sure that the lock icon is in the context of the browser window, rather than the current web page. And knowing that a secure site does not necessarily guarantee that a site is legitimate. URL masking techniques have the ability to make false addresses appear to be the current business security. If you doubt the authenticity of the site, contact the site owner.
Another way to avoid the scammers is to keep your browser and operating system updated. Download and install all patches and updates to be found with all the latest security updates.
Install a personal firewall excellent antivirus software, antispyware and antispam software. Since these programs reduce the number of phishing attacks email come his way, and avoid remote malicious viruses will not have many opportunities to fall prey to a phishing attack.
If you follow these rules and how to stay away from the bait, you can avoid being hooked by a phishing scam. While you stay informed about phishing and stay a step ahead of the game, such as tactics evolve with the times, will be swimming safer waters.
Topic: How To Avoid Phishing Scams (Read 1518 times)
