Spoofs and Password Phishing

In the past decade or so, we have become increasingly more aware of the con artists who seek to steal our private information by “phishing” for passwords and secure information. Phishing is basically an attempt to deceive a user into thinking that an email link or similar item is from a legitimate company but is actually from a hacker who wants to scam you.

People can attempt to fool you in a variety of ways. One of the ways con artists get the information they want is by impersonation. In an impersonation attempt, the con artist will claim to be an employee or representative of a particular company and ask you for your password and login information. Most companies have made an avid attempt to warn their customer base of these types of scams. There really are not any companies who will ask you for your password or login information via email. If you do get one of these phishing emails, you should send a copy of it (including email headers) to the company, which they claim to be from. They can let you know whether or not it is a spoof.

Another way con artists like to attempt to impersonate a company in hopes of stealing your personal information is by sending a spoof email. A spoof email will look almost exactly as an email from that particular company would. Spoofers have become increasingly more sophisticated in their methods and some of today’s emails are virtually undetectable as spoofs by the average reader. They can so closely mimic the style, layout and colors of the “real” company’s image and have become a serious security issue. In most spoof emails, the sender will say that there has been a security breach and if you do not log in to your account, you may loose access or funds. They will almost always provide a link for you to click on and most of these links are very, very similar to the real company’s links. Ninety-nine percent of the time, if not always, these types of emails are scams and are an attempt to unwittingly con you out of giving up private and personal information.

The Age of the Internet has given us a whole new world of possibilities. We can stay in touch with friends and family from around the globe much easier than in years past. We can find research information on virtually any topic known to mankind. With the new doors that have opened has come a whole new breed of criminal activity. As new possibilities have become available for us, new possibilities to scam people have come to scammers and con artists. All in all, these 21st century con artists have a much larger playing field to test their skills. They also have the opportunity to remain practically anonymous in their efforts and can easily hide behind their computer’s monitor. In effect, this makes them much more effective and in many cases, much more dangerous.

Most of us have received a spoof email at some point or another. Many of them seem to come from online auction sites, banks and financial institutions, educational facilities and many other places. The con artists know that people are learning their tricks but are still succeeding because their attempts are often undetectable. A good rule of thumb is to never click a link supplied in an email that is asking for your personal information. You can send a copy of the email to the website or you can email or call the company directly to find out whether or not this is a spoof or phishing attempt. You should always trust your instinct in these matters. If your personal information was to get into the hands of a con artist criminal, the damage they can pursue may be endless. Identity theft is on the rise and is considered one of the most serious white-collar crimes of our time. Protecting yourself on the Internet is, in most cases, not a very difficult task. It does require, however, that you use common sense judgment and be aware of current and new scams that are being aimed at today’s consumers and Internet users.

Source: www.securitytutorial.com