Phishing For Your
Identity
By James Williams
Who hasn’t received
an email directing
them to visit a
familiar website
where they are being
asked to update
their personal
information?
The website needs
you to verify or
update your
passwords, credit
card numbers, social
security number, or
even your bank
account number.
You recognize the
business name as one
that you’ve
conducted business
with in the past.
So, you click on the
convenient “take me
there” link and
proceed to provide
all the information
they have requested.
Unfortunately, you
find out much later
that the website is
bogus. It was
created with the
sole intent to steal
your personal
information.
You, my friend, have
just been “phished”.
Phishing (pronounced
as “fishing”) is
defined as the act
of sending an email
to a recipient
falsely claiming to
have an established,
legitimate business.
The intent of the
phisher is to scam
the recipient into
surrendering their
private information,
and ultimately steal
your identity.
It is not at easy as
you think to spot an
email phishing for
information.
At first glance, the
email may look like
it is from a
legitimate company.
The "From" field of
the e-mail may have
the .com address of
the company
mentioned in the
e-mail. The
clickable link even
appears to take you
to the company's
website, when in
fact, it is a fake
website built to
replicate the
legitimate site.
Many of these people
are professional
criminals.
They have spent a
lot of time in
creating emails that
look authentic.
Users need to review
all emails
requesting personal
information
carefully.
When reviewing your
email remember that
the "From Field" can
be easily changed by
the sender.
While it may look
like it is coming
from a .com you do
business with, looks
can be deceiving.
Also
keep in mind that the
phisher will go all out
in trying to make their
email look as legitimate
as possible. They
will even copy logos or
images from the official
site to use in their
emails. Finally,
they like to include a
clickable link that the
recipient can follow to
conveniently update
their information.
A
great way to check
the legitimacy of
the link is to point
at the link with
your mouse. Then,
look in the bottom
left hand screen of
your computer.
The actual website
address to which you
are being directed
will show up for you
to view. It is
a very quick and
easy way to check if
you are being
directed to a
legitimate site.
Finally, follow the
golden rule.
Never, ever, click
the links within the
text of the e-mail,
and always delete
the e-mail
immediately. Once
you have deleted the
e-mail, empty the
trash box in your
e-mail accounts as
well. If you are
truly concerned that
you are missing an
important notice
regarding one of
your accounts, then
type the full URL
address of the
website into your
browser. At
least then you can
be confident that
you are, in fact,
being directed to
the true and
legitimate website.
