What is a "phishing" attack?
A phishing (pronounced fishing) attack is an email and/or web site set up to look like a legitimate email or site for a well-known organization. This fraudulent email or web site is designed to get personal information from an unsuspecting user such as a username/password, credit card number, social security number, etc. A phishing attack is designed to get this information so the attacker can steal your identity.
What is an example of a phishing attack?
An email might be sent out that at first glance looks like it came from a user's financial institution indicating the passwords for the banking web site were stolen and everyone needs to reset their passwords. Conveniently, a link would be included in the email taking the user to what looks like the real site but is not. The web site may even go so far as to reset the password for the user on the legitimate site, keeping the user in the dark to the fraud that has just occurred.
Why should I be aware of phishing attacks?
The number of phishing attacks reported has risen dramatically in the last few months. Also, attackers are beginning to go after prominent financial institutions such as Citibank. Finally, phishing attacks have proven a great deal more successful than SPAM as attackers seek to collect personal information in order to perform identity theft.
What if the From: address looks legitimate?
The from address on an email can be forged almost as easily as the from block on a normal piece of mail through the US Postal Service. As a result, you can't trust the from address on an email to determine if an email is from the institution or is actually a phishing attack.
The link in the email looks like the one I always use. Can I trust it?
Never trust a link in email if you have any question about the legitimacy of the email message. Attackers have been known to use issues with the web browser to hide the real location you'd be going to. They are also clever at making subtle changes like using a 1 (one) instead of an l (the letter L) or a 0 (zero) instead of an O (the letter O). When in doubt, close out the email message and either contact your financial institution by phone or go to the known site. Do not follow the link from the email.
How can I protect myself from phishing attacks?
The following recommendations come from the anti-phishing working group:
Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information unless the email is digitally signed, you can't be sure it wasn't forged or 'spoofed'
phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately
they typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.
phisher emails are typically NOT personalized, while valid messages from your bank or e-commerce company generally are
Don't use the links in an email to get to any web page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser
Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information you should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone
Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser to make sure you're on a secure Web server, check the beginning of the Web address in your browsers address bar - it should be "https://" rather than just "http://"
Regularly log into your online accounts don't leave it for as long as a month before you check each account
Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate if anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers
