Phishing – Hook, Line and Sinker
Everyone has heard of fishing. You throw in a line, and catch a fish. A little time, a little effort, and it can result in a great reward. But not everyone has heard of phishing.
Phishing is when a website is not a legitimate website – and you can unknowingly enter personal details into it, giving the criminals everything they need to empty your bank accounts or steal your identity.
This can happen when you receive an email stating that your bank has ‘lost your personal records, and if you log onto the link below they’ll be sure to update them for you’. So you click on the link in the email, and are taken to a rather convincing website that looks almost identical to your regular bank/credit union/Paypal account/credit card website. You enter your account number, PIN, password and date of birth – and the criminal has everything they need as they obtain these details from you.
The simplest way to avoid this kind of phishing attempt is to ignore any emails purporting to be from financial institutions etc, and always log onto a website from the browser.
Of course, spyware/anit-virus software is also great for avoiding these types of attacks, but more about them later.