Gone Phishing By Jake Winemiller June 2005 The bank sends you an email saying they need you to verify your social security number on their site?  Interesting…. eBay needs you to send them your username and password?  Really…they don’t already have it?? Paypal thinks you should stop by and verify your credit card number?  Why not…right? Wrong. By now, most of you out there have probably heard of the term “Phishing”, but just in case you haven’t, just look at the scenarios I’ve posted above and you’ve likely seen it in your email boxes from time to time.  Phishing is defined as a social-engineering scheme that uses “spoofed” (fake emails that appear to come from real companies) e-mails to lead the recipient to counterfeit websites designed for the sole purpose of tricking the user into divulging sensitive personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords and social security numbers.  These “phishing” scams normally use brand names of banks, e-tailers and credit card companies, as well as all the appropriate logos and color schemes you would expect to see from that company, in order to convince recipients to respond with the information they seek to steal.  These scam artists prey on those who don’t realize they are being tricked and use the data they gain to steal your money, your reputation, and your identity. We work very hard to stop all forms of spam, but unfortunately, we can’t get it all- no one can. So what can you do to protect yourself from phishing scams that end up in your mail box? Be on the lookout for any emails asking you to go to a specific web site and share personal information. Most phishing scams feature very professional looking logos from well known companies and normally use an emergency or eye catching headline urging you to reply immediately to protect yourself from a threat.  If you think it might be a legitimate request, call the vender that supposedly emailed you and verify that the email is valid. Most phishing emails will not personally address you.  If the email has a greeting of “dear client”, “valued client”, etc.- be wary. Don’t ever use the links in the email.  If you think it might be a legitimate request for a username/password from eBay (for example), go directly to the main site of the company and check for a customer alert instead of clicking on the links in the email. Never fill out any forms that require sensitive personal data in an email. The most important thing you need to do to protect yourself from these types of scams making sure you are always keeping a lookout for scams and questioning anything out of the ordinary. For more information on phishing, past phishing scams, and to report new ones, please check out http://www.antiphishing.org/index.html Thanks again for being part of the DNI family, and have a great day! Thank you.