Phishers Take Advantage in Times of Crisis
Scammers use times of stress to take advantage of consumers…
The ongoing economic crisis has empowered scammers to increase their efforts to catch distracted consumers in e-mail schemes and ‘phishing’ scams. A form of email fraud, phishing is when a crook impersonates a business, bank or non-profit organization that the potential victims does business with to gain their trust and obtain personal information that can be used to embezzle funds. Attacks are often focused on the financial and insurance industries. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, millions of Americans received fake emails asking for donations to charitable organizations. “Phishers know how to make use of people’s vulnerabilities during times of stress,” said Peter Horan, chief executive officer of Goodmail.
“Email scammers like to use global crises and high profile news headlines when baiting consumers,” Horan added. His company provides CertifiedEmail, a a separate class of “digitally signed” messages that assures a message is really from the sender it seems to be from. Banks, retailers and other merchants are beginning to use more of these advanced systems to assure consumer confidence.
Unless absolutely positive of an email sender’s identity, consumers should consider the following advice to avoid being a victim of phishing:
- Make the Call - It’s always better to be safe than sorry. If you have any doubt at all about the source of an email, pick up the phone and make personal contact with a customer service agent. Never call the number provided in the email but find it in a reputable source like the YellowPages or from a billing statement. Phishers have all the tricks to mimick brand identities and even forge the ‘From’ line to make their emails appear to be coming from a legitimate source.
- Be Skeptical of Requests for Personal Information - Never reply to emails that ask for personal identification. The request may be an appeal to you to help them update their files or a threatening or urgent email ‘requiring you to take action.’
- Stop Clicking Links - Email schemes usually include a link to a website that continues to collect sensitive personal data. Even worse, visiting these illegitimate sites may launch the installation of viruses, keystroke loggers and other malicious code onto the user’s computer. If you choose to visit the site, manually type in the URL of the company, rather than clicking on a link in an email.
- Never Ever Open and Attachment - Responsible companies will never send an email with an attachment. Highly insecure, once opened an attachment can do major damage to your computer’s security and in effect your personal information found therein.
- Report It - If you are sent a phishing email, help law enforcement put a stop to it by forwarding it, including the full header, to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) at reportphishing@antiphishing.
org. APWG is the global pan-industrial and law enforcement association focused on eliminating the fraud and identity theft that result from phishing, pharming and email spoofing of all types.
* To learn more about phishing scams, visit Anti Phishing.org >
