Phishing is a one of the fastest-growing cyber crimes.

Phishers are sneaky low life’s that prey on their unsuspecting victims almost with impunity.

In order to protect ourselves, we must study to know how Phishing works.

Know Thy Enemy…

According to the FBI, it will cost consumers millions of dollars this year alone.

Phishing is a relatively new term, used to describe the act of trying to get private information from anyone by pretending to be someone that they aren’t.

Phishing is accomplished through the use of deception mainly through emails and websites that try to convince the victim they are a bank or even the government.

Phishing really is high tech identity theft! No longer are they going through your trash, they operate from the comfort of their own homes.

Cyber Criminals steal your identity and personal information to gain access to your bank accounts, credit card information or even online trading accounts

Email

Emails are the main entry point for phishers and can be sent from anyone claiming to be whomever they want.

Phishers use a number of different social engineering and e-mail spoofing ploys to try to trick their victims.

Phishers regularly & very cleverly disguise the sender identification in an email to make the email look like it is coming from a bank or online merchant.

They use scare tactics, employing urgent language to pressure you into submitting confidential data.

Emails from your bank or ISP will never ask you to send them your private or personal information via email or to fill in a form with sensitive personal information online.

Email messages about tax refunds that claim to be from the IRS are usually phishers who are trying to scam you. The best thing you can do is call the IRS & confirm the email is for real.

Security

Security firm SophosLabs says over 75 percent of all Phishing e-mail targets PayPal and eBay users.

Phishers will try to convince victims to log into their accounts on a website that looks just like Pay Pal or eBay but in reality is owned by the scammers.

When these cybercrooks succeed in convincing an unwitting victim to enter their personal information & passwords, they instantly have access to the victim’s real account.

Security experts recently discovered that vast networks of home computers were being hijacked and then rented out to phishers who would steal private, business or personal information and then steal money from the victims

Bank

Sources say that Bank of America is one of several websites that ask users to select a personal image, and display this user-selected image with any forms that request a password although I haven’t seen this myself

Banks like Citibank have felt the wrath of phishers who have targeted their customers unmercifully.

In conclusion…

Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal or business information illegally in order to access your financial accounts

Phishing is no longer a nuisance crime. Phishing is fraud on the Internet, just like fraud that happens on the street.

Phishing is a real threat to financial firms from IBM to Morgan Stanley.

Phishing really is an old con game with a high tech twist

When it comes to the growing problem of identity theft, the best offense is a good defense.

The Federal Trade Commission logged more than 250,000 complaints of identity theft in 2005, up about 3 percent from 2004. The identities of 9 million Americans are stolen each year, accounting for $56 billion in losses.

Be on guard. This is the time of year people are most at risk for being hit; the heavy holiday retail season continues through January, while tax-preparation time provides added opportunities for identity theft.

The problem is so severe that President Bush last May established the Identity Theft Task Force, co-chaired by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras.

The task force is charged with improving the ability of the government and private sector to bring identity thieves to justice, to reduce the risk of theft and to help theft victims recover. Now, only 1 in 700 cases is prosecuted.

The best tactic is to avoid being a target in the first place.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the best offense is something as simple as a paper shredder. Receipts, papers with credit card account and Social Security numbers (such as health-benefit-payment and income-reporting forms and loan documents) should be shredded.

Tax paperwork should be kept in a safe, locked location. And make sure to have updated firewall software to protect your computer from invasion, since many taxpayers file online.

STEPS TO TAKE

• Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you initiated the contact or are sure you know who you’re dealing with. Clever identity thieves pose as representatives of banks, Internet service providers and even government agencies to get people to reveal a Social Security number, mother’s maiden name, account numbers and other identifying information.

• Treat your mail and trash carefully. Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at a local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox.

• To thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash or recycling bins to capture personal information, tear or shred charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you’re discarding and credit offers you get in the mail.

• Don’t carry your Social Security card. Leave it in a secure place. Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary, and ask to use other types of identifiers. If your state uses your SSN as your driver’s license number, ask to substitute another number. Do the same if your health insurance company uses your SSN as your policy number.

• Carry only the identification information and the credit and debit cards that you’ll actually need when you go out.

• Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work; do the same with copies of administrative forms that have your sensitive personal information.

• When ordering new checks, pick them up from the bank instead of having them mailed to your home.

Source: http://www.delawareonline.com/