Anti Phishing Tips

Anti Phishing Tips

Phishing - Pronounced "fishing," it is a scam to stealvaluable information such as creditcard and social security numbers, user IDs and passwords.Also known as "brand spoofing," an official-looking e-mailis sent to potential victims pretending to be from their ISP, bank orretail establishment. E-mails can be sent to people on selected listsor on any list, expecting that some percentage of recipients will actuallyhave an account with the real organization.

The number and sophistication of phishing scams sent out toconsumers is continuing to increase dramatically. While online bankingand e-commerce is very safe, as a general rule you should be carefulabout giving out your personal financial information over the Internet.Here we have put fort a few tips that will help you keep your Identitysafe from these anti social elements..

Last Updated - 7th October 2005

E-Mail Is the "Bait"
The e-mail states that due to internal accounting errors or some other pretext,certain information must be updated to continue your service. A link in the messagedirects the user to a Web page that asks for financial information. The page looksgenuine, because it is easy to fake a valid Web site. Any HTML page on the Webcan be copied and modified to suit the phishing scheme.

Howto Avoid Phishing Scams

Be suspicious of any e-mail withurgent requests for personal financial information unless the e-mail is digitallysigned, you can't be sure it wasn't forged or 'spoofed' phishers typically includeupsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their e-mails to get people toreact immediately
they typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords,credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.

Phisher e-mails aretypically NOT personalized, while valid messages from your bank or e-commercecompany generally are

Don't use the links in an e-mail to get to anyweb page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic instead, call thecompany on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Webaddress in your browser.

Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages thatask for personal financial information you should only communicate informationsuch as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or thetelephone

Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submittingcredit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser to make sure you'reon a secure Web server, check the beginning of the Web address in your browsersaddress bar - it should be "https://" rather than just "http://"

Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from knownphishing fraud websites

EarthLink ScamBlocker is part of a free browsertoolbar that alerts you before you visit a page that's on Earthlink's list ofknown fraudulent phisher Web sites. Its free to all Internet users - downloadat http://www.earthlink.net/earthlinktoolbar

Regularly log into youronline accounts, don't leave it for as long as a month before you check each account

Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensurethat all transactions are legitimate if anything is suspicious, contact your bankand all card issuers

Ensure that your browser is up to date and securitypatches applied in particular, people who use the Microsoft Internet Explorerbrowser should immediately go to the Microsoft Security home page -- http://www.microsoft.com/security/-- to download a special patch relating to certain phishing schemes

WhatTo Do If You've Given Out Your Personal Financial Information

Ifyou have given out your credit or debit or ATM card information

Report the theft of this information to the card issuer as quickly as possible
Many companies have toll-free numbers and 24-hour service to deal withsuch emergencies.
Cancel your account and open a new one
Reviewyour billing statements carefully after the loss
If they show any unauthorizedcharges, it's best to send a letter to the card issuer describing each questionablecharge.
Credit Card Loss or Fraudulent Charges (FCBA).
- Yourmaximum liability under federal law for unauthorized use of your credit card is$50.
- If the loss involves your credit card number, but not the card itself,you have no liability for unauthorized use
ATM or DebitCard Loss or Fraudulent Transfers (EFTA).
- Your liability under federallaw for unauthorized use of your ATM or debit card depends on how quickly youreport the loss.
- You risk unlimited loss if you fail to report an unauthorizedtransfer within 60 days after your bank statement containing unauthorized useis mailed to you

If youhave given out your bank account information

Report the theftof this information to the bank as quickly as possible
Cancel your accountand open a new on

If you have downloadeda virus or Trojan

Some phishing attacks use viruses and/orTrojans to install programs called "key loggers" on your computer. Theseprograms capture and send out any information that you type to the phisher, includingcredit card numbers, usernames and passwords, Social Security Numbers, etc. Inthis case, you should:
- Install and/or update anti-virus and personalfirewall software
- Update all virus definitions and run a full scan
- Confirmevery connection your firewall allows
- If your system appears to havebeen compromised, fix it and then change your password again, since you may wellhave transmitted the new one to the hacker
- Check your other accounts!The hackers may have helped themselves to many different accounts:
- Checkyour e-mail ISP, online bank accounts, online trading accounts, and other e-commerceaccounts, and everything else for which you use online password.

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