Don't get Hooked by A Phishing Scam

How to Protect Against Phishing Scams and Fraudulent Email?

Phishing scams and fraudulent or "fake" emails are designed for identity theft by internet scam artists. A 'phishing' email is one that pretends to be from a company or bank like eBay, PayPal, WAMU, Suntrust etc, and which asks you to enter your account data, such as login details. These scams are often supported by fake spoof websites, and victims are tricked into thinking they are logging to a real website. Phishing is a form of identity theft, where fraudsters steal your identity and personal information to gain access to your accounts or commit other crimes using your persona. These scams can be found everywhere on the Internet ranging from commercial websites, social networking sites and even your email account. Follow the steps below to learn how you can protect against phishing scams and fraudulent emails.

• Limit the information you post on social networking sites. Scammers surf these websites to locate personal information such as email addresses, habits, location and other data. Fraudulent emails are then created based on this information asking for additional personal information, credit card numbers or emails containing links to scam websites.

• Delete emails sent from unknown internet addresses even if they appear to come from legitimate sources. This is especially true if they contain time limits or relay a sense of urgency. These are attempts to convince you there is something wrong with your banking or other financial accounts so you will email your personal information or link to a phishing website where you will enter your information. Also unknown emails can release viruses, Trojans, and spyware onto your computer that can collect additional personal information and send it to the scammer.

• Check the links in every email you read before you click on them. When you place your cursor over a link an additional link appears in the bottom lower left bar on your screen. Compare the two link addresses, and if they do not match exactly do not click on the link. Phishing scams usually start with fraudulent emails with fake email links meant to direct you to the scam site.

• Update your anti-virus, spyware, firewall and anti-spam programs on a regular basis and perform routine scans of your PC or laptop. This should prevent most phishing scams and fake emails from ever reaching your computer.

Source: ehow.com

What is Phishing and How to Protect Yourself from Email Phishing Scams?

Phishing is an e-mail fraud method in which the perpetrator sends out legitimate-looking email in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from recipients. Typically, the messages appear to come from well known and trustworthy Web sites. Web sites that are frequently spoofed by phishers include PayPal, eBay, MSN, Yahoo, BestBuy, and America Online. A phishing expedition, like the fishing expedition it's named for, is a speculative venture: the phisher puts the lure hoping to fool at least a few of the prey that encounter the bait.

Here are some simple steps to protect you from email phishing scams.

• When you receive en email in your inbox from unknown source, do not respond to it or click any links in the email or even download any attachments. Sometimes even opening the email alerts the spammer or put your computer at risk. Delete the contents of your Spam or Junk folder.

• Do not open links from emails even if it comes from a trusted source or friends. You are not sure if your friend's email had been hacked and sends a mass email to every contact in the list. If you click the link, you might be the next victim of the spammer.

• Do not click or download images from an email. Images can actually be harmfully coded that can be used by spammers to determine active email accounts that they can send phishing scams. Although most email providers are default to automatically block these images or better known as "Web beacons", you still have to handle image attachments with extra caution.

• Delete any email that is asking for your personal information, unsubscribe, or forgotten passwords. These types of emails should not be generated unless you asked for it from the website itself. If you happen to accidentally click the links and opened a pop-up window asking you to enter any information, close it immediately. Never ever enter your personal information in a pop-up window unless you are working on a legitimate website at that time.

• Update your antivirus software and your operating system for patches that helps protect your computer from these fraudulent attacks. Email phishing scam is only one of the many activities by cyber criminals to steal information from you so protect yourself by becoming aware.