| |
| |
|
Security Information |
|
|
|
Identity Theft - Beware of Phishing Attacks!
"Dear Bank of the West customer", the message begins. I've just received an e-mail message, purportedly from the security department at the Bank of the West. The message explains that certain features of my account have been suspended due to "suspicious activity" on my account. The message then provides a link that I can follow in order to fill out an online form confirming my identity. It's certainly nice that Bank of the West is worried about the status of my account. There's just one problem - I don't have an account at Bank of the West. In fact, I've never even heard of Bank of the West. This message is an example of "phishing", a relatively new problem found on the Internet. Unscrupulous individuals are sending spam e-mail messages by the millions, purporting to be from credit card companies, PayPal, eBay, or banks. Each message warns the recipient of questionable activity on his or her account, as asks that the recipient click on a link to verify personal information. The requested information is usually a username or password. Sometimes it's a credit card number and expiration date. These messages are almost always fraudulent, and consumers are falling for them by the thousands. The messages certainly look legitimate, and often mimic the style of the legitimate company's messages exactly. How can you tell the difference between a real message from your bank and a fake one designed to steal your identity? There are several tips to help identify phishing expeditions. The first is the greeting. "Dear valued customer" is an odd greeting from a company that has a database that contains your name, address, Social Security number and credit card. Any company with whom you do business that legitimately wants to contact you will probably do so by name. Look for misspelled words. Phishing expeditions often come from foreign senders who often mangle the English text of the message rather badly, combining both bad grammar and bad spelling. Check the links in the messages. The link may say www.eBay.com, but if you move your mouse over the link, you may see something like "htttp://200.118.105?" on the bottom line of your e-mail program, indicating that the link is a fake. Should you click on the link, you'll be taken to a page that looks just like the real Website, but why take the chance? If you need to contact your bank, credit card company, or online auction house, either go to their Website directly or call them. Never click on a link in a message that threatens you with account suspension; if a company with whom you do business has issues with your account, they will probably contact you by phone or mail. These individuals who use these phishing tips are getting more clever all the time. It pays to be suspicious. If you aren't, you may end up a victim of identity theft. ©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding home equity lending.
MORE RESOURCES:
Security - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Spyware Blaster Can Protect Your Computer From Harm By browsing a web page, you could infect your computer with spy ware, ad ware, dialers and hijackers. These, unwelcome guests, are some of the fastest growing threats on the Internet today. What Every Internet Marketer Should Know About Spyware If you run any type of Internet business, Adware and Spyware can be a very serious issue. These programs hide themselves on your computer and do all sorts of annoying and potentially dangerous things. 3 Steps to Ending Scams and Virus Problems Watching how the traditional media covers the latest virus or scam would make one think we are all innocent victims and it is the "evil Internet" at work once again. News flash! Innocent? More like uninformed. Spyware Symptoms Spyware symptoms happen when your computer gets bogged down with spyware programs running in the background without your knowledge. Spyware, adware, malware and even spamware can cause your computer to behave very strange. Is Spyware Watching You? Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call from a friend who told me he'd been the victim of a "spyware" attack that left him shaking at his loss of privacy.I listened to his horror story with a sympathetic ear, but I felt secure since I carry anti-virus software and a firewall (both by Norton). How To Cover Your Tracks On The Internet Every single time you access a website, you leave tracks. Tracks that others can access. Is Shopping Online For Your Horse Gifts Safe? Shopping for horse gifts or other gift items on the internet is quick, convenient and is probably safer than you think. However, you still need to be aware that it is essential to vigorously protect your privacy and financial information when making purchases online. Computer Viruses and Other Nasties: How to Protect Your Computer from These Invaders Can you protect your computer from all possible viruses and other invasions?The quickest answer to this is "no." It's just flat impossible to protect your computer from all viruses, registry attacks, worms, spyware, malware, popups, and other such nasties. Corporate Security for Your Home Business The words Corporate Security may conjure up images of a group of techies working in a wire-filled basement room of Microsoft or HP, combating hackers and terrorists online using words like algorithm and encryption. If you own your own business, do not allow yourself to think that security is only for big corporations. Network Security 101 As more people are logging onto the Internet everyday, Network Security becomes a larger issue. In the United States, identity theft and computer fraud are among the fastest rising crimes. Dont Fall Victim to Internet Fraud-10 Tips for Safer Surfing The Internet offers a global marketplace for consumers and businesses. However, criminals also recognize the potential of cyberspace. How To Clean the Spies In Your Computer? Manual Spy Bot Removal > BookedSpaceBookedSpace is an Internet Explorer Browser Helper Object used to show advertising.Free PC Health Check - find bad files fast! How many corrupt and redundant files are lurking inside your PC ready to cause harmful errors? Find these harmful "time-bomb" files instantly and keep your computer ERROR FREE 24 hours a day!Variants BookedSpace/Remanent : early variant (around July 2003) with filename rem00001. The Move to a New Anti-Virus Model This is the second in a series of articles highlighting reasons why we need a new model for anti-virus and security solutions.Reason #1: the Basic ModelAnti-virus software vendors still rely on yesterday's methods for solving today's problems: they wait for the next virus to wreak havoc and then produce a solution. Wireless Network Security Working from home has its advantages, including no commute, a more flexible work schedule and fresh coffee and home-cooked meals whenever you want.But working from home while using a wireless local area network (WLAN) may lead to theft of sensitive information and hacker or virus infiltration unless proper measures are taken. The Never Ending Spyware Story It's been with us since 1993, it's gotten more intrusive, more complicated.It's created a whole ecosystem, so to speak. Breaking Into Your PC: News... You'd better learn news from media, not from emails, security experts warn us users again.Numerous emails with "breaking news" in subject lines are appearing in users' inboxes. SPYWARE - Whos Watching Who? I am in the midst of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. "The basis of optimism is sheer terror. Just Whos Computer is this Anyway? Well, this is an article I never thought I would have to write. Computer ownership was just not something I thought people would get confused over but, after overhearing a number of conversations last week from my co-workers, I realized that quite a few people just don't know how cut and dry this topic is. Can I Guess Your Password? We all know that it's dangerous to use the same password for more than one program. If you sign up for a program run by someone of low moral fibre, what is to stop them running through various programs with your username and password to see what they can access? But of course remembering all the different passwords can be a headache. Delete Cookies: New-Age Diet or Common Sense Internet Security? No, this article isn't about some new, lose-20-pounds-in-a-week, certified-by-some-tan-Southern-California-doctor diet. It's about cookies on your computer - what they are, why they are there, and what to do about them.
|
|
home | site map Visit our other sites: GamesBlog | GamingDepot | GimmeaRide | GimmeNetwork | Golf Biz | HotorNotGame | I Want Computers | I Want Games | I Want Hosting | I Want Music | I Want Security | JokeBox | ScriptShock | Wantedfonts | Webalize |
| © 2006 |
