Internet: Do not offer
personal information to anyone requesting it online. Criminal hackers can use
it to rack up purchases in your name.
Door to door: Never open
your door to a stranger. Phony charities, utilities scams and unscrupulous
employees (even from legitimate companies) can learn a lot about your security and
home habits from a brief front-door encounter.
Person to person: A
friendly or apparently needy person can cause us to drop our guard and open our
wallets. Always be suspicious of anyone asking for money or personal
information.
Mutual acquaintances: Just because
someone claims to know someone you know, that’s no reason to be trusting.
Online Phishing Scams-Don't Take the Bait!
Your tax payment bounced, your account is overdrawn, there's a
problem with your savings plan, or a Nigerian prince desperately needs your help. Most
of us at some point have received random urgent emails trolling for financial
information or asking us to click a link to win a huge prize. It's a common
scam known as "phishing," and if you fall prey to this crime, you
risk having your bank account pillaged or your identity stolen.
Phishing scams can take a variety of forms, but one thing they
have in common is that they cost consumers and businesses millions, even
billions of dollars per year.
Here Are Some Common Tricks:
SMS phishing"-smishing"
"Smishing,"
a combination of text messaging (SMS) and phishing, is another scheme designed
to trick people into divulging sensitive information via a Web link and false website,
or a telephone number. The recipient might receive a text appearing to be from a
trusted source such as financial institution asking to verify account
information, or a retailer offering a free gift. Many people don't realize that
their mobile phone is another source for scam artists who use the immediacy of
text messages to their advantage.
Mass phishing
High
volume "mass phishing" campaigns are sent by fraudsters to thousands
or millions
of consumers, and often appear to be from larger banks, Internet service providers,
retailers, or the IRS. Victims are randomly chosen via sophisticated tools used
to scan the Web and harvest email addresses, or through purchased or stolen
lists. Many online users have learned to spot these emails, which are often
suspicious and vaguewith salutations such as "Dear customer."
According to Cisco Security Intelligence Operations, only about three percent
of mass phishing emails are opened, yielding the attacker an average of $2,000
when the scam succeeds.
Spear-phishing
Personalized
phishing attacks, known as "spearphishing," target fewer individuals than
mass phishing campaigns, but the scammers are careful to choose people most likely
to open the emails. Messages tend to look authentic, address their victims by name,
contain a personal tidbit about the individual (such as employment), and seem to
come from companies the victims have a business relationship with. Oftentimes, these
emails contain links to fake sites or attachments with malware that can relay passwords
and account numbers to the scammers. The payoffs are higher for cyber criminals
approximately $80,000 per victim, according to Cisco.
7 Steps to Protect Yourself
1. Never "verify" account information via email
Your bank and legitimate companies will not ask you to disclose account details via email. Never give out your personal
financial information in response to an unsolicited email, text, or phone
call.
2. Watch out for links
Don't click any links in an email claiming to be from a bank or financial institution. If you scroll your cursor over a
suspected link, your browser should show the actual address you'll be taken to.
If it's different from the address of the legitimate website, then
clicking may take you to a fraudulent site.
3. Steer clear of "urgent" messages
Don't respond to emails or texts that warn of consequences
unless you validate your information. Contact the company directly
using a telephone number or Web address you
know are genuine.
4. Be
cautious with attachments
Unless you
trust the source and you're expecting them, it's best to avoid opening attachments
or downloading files.
5. Look
closely at spelling
Many phishing
emails and websites include spelling and grammatical mistakes-errors your real
bank or account provider would never make in a professional customer email.
6. Make sure
websites are secure
When
conducting online business, make sure sites feature a lock icon and an "https"
URL to indicate security.
7. Safeguard
your computer
Purchase
up-to-date security software to prevent spam, viruses, and spyware.
With the
speed and convenience of email and text, it's likely that tech savvy con
artists will at some point attempt to steal your money or identity. By knowing
more about phishing scams, you'll be able to recognize potential threats and avoid
being hooked.
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