Preventing Phishing Attacks

Phishing: Be the one that got away
(Fall 2006)

Seen these phrases in your e-mails?

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Phishing is a form of online identity theft. The scam involves emails that purport to come from a legitimate branded source (like your bank, eBay or Amazon). The e-mail tries to persuade the viewer to click on a link to a fraudulent website, and provide personal or financial information. In a nasty twist, some even provide telephonic "verification".

How common is Phishing?

Currently, over 30% of dodgy e-mails are phishing attacks.

How not to be caught

Take our standard security advice: Don't talk to strangers. If you're in any doubt whatsoever, don't click on the link, and delete the e-mail. Be suspicious of unsolicited e-mails from strangers, and of irregular requests, like the bank asking you to log on to its website to update your account details. Grammatical and formatting errors are useful red flags.

Security advice #2: If in doubt, get your hand off the mouse. Many of us reflexively click without really reading or registering. Take a few seconds to evaluate the situation, and get out or seek advice if you are at all unsure. Finally, be very careful about downloading "free" anti-phishing or anti-spyware software – if you aren't certain it's from a trustworthy source, don't touch it. You might end up with a cure that's worse than the disease.

More: www.antiphishing.org

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