The internet has became a place where new words are made everyday. Phishing is one of those words. Pronounced fishing. An attacker creates an email that looks similar, or almost identical to an authentic email from a company. Paypal and eBay are about the most popular, however there are many others. Usually these emails will tell you that your account has been canceled or something similar. The phishing email will then give you a link to enter your
We would all like to think that phishing scams are easily spotted by the majority of internet users and for someone to actually bite on one of these scams, is almost as possible as someone winning the lotto. But that's hardly the case. Most users are too dependent on software solutions to identify such attacks, and remove them before the user ever has the chance to lose their identity. Because of this, thousands of internet users lose their identity to phishers. And believe it or not, Phishing has been around for quite some time, But lately has been on the increase.
account info, or other personal info. If you clicked on the link in the email to update you account, then you'll be directed to a page that looks like the authentic page, but the details you enter will go to the phisher and not where you want it to. Now they have your account, identity, and possibly your money.
Spotting a Phishing Scam
When you get an phishing email, if you'll hover the link you'll see that its not pointed at the url you recognize but something else, something like http://208.117.44.102/something.asp . Obviously this should throw up red flags across the board. If you get an phishing email like this, you will know its someone phishing for your account information. But guess what, you can't depend on that. Why? Because the status bar can be spoofed, and following the link that says paypal.com will take you to the page that's at the phishers address. So if you get an email like this and your not sure, open your browser and physically type in the url of the website. Do not follow links from an email. Just by visiting a phishing site, you expose yourself to many risks, even if you don't enter any information.
What can happen if I do click on a Phishing Email
Just by visiting some webpages, you expose yourself to risks. In phishing attacks, if you were to click on an email you received, it may have looked something like this:
http://127.0.0.1/phish.php?email=
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
By clicking on this link. The phisher can know what your email, IP address, browser platform, operating system, and more information about you. Even your location in some cases. You also expose your computer to a malicious website that can infect your computer with spyware or adware.
What to do if you get a phishing email
Some of the more popular phishing attacks like a paypal scam, or ebay scam can help them in defeating phishers. Go to their website and they will usually have a contact us form or abuse form. Fill it out and tell them about the phishing email you received. They may ask for more information to find the phisher and combat the phishing problem. Or simply delete the email and wait for the next one. Odds are you'll receive more, especially if you don't have spam filters installed. Even then, phishing scams can slip through. So use common sense when reading these emails. You best defense against phishing is education and attention to details. So pay attention now that you know what you're looking for. Visit http://www.sxsecurity.com for more security articles, news and info.
Author: Jake Foster writes security related articles for http://www.sxsecurity.com. Visit SXSecurity for security related articles, news, advisories, and more security info.
