Scams involving email continue to plague consumers across
America, indeed the world. These so called "phishing" scams
involve "spoofed" emails meant to draw the unwary to bogus
internet sites masquerading as legitimate sites. These scam
artists -- phishers -- attempt to hook visitors in by having
them divulge certain critical and personal bits of information.
Once the information has been divulged the phishers start their
dirty work and you have been conned. Several phishing scams
continue to persist, the following are three of the most
pervasive ones.
1. Financial Institutions. It is highly likely that you
have already received this type of notice which appears to have
come from your financial institution. It goes something like
this:We are glad to inform you, that our bank has a
new security system. The new updated technology will ensure the
security of your payments through our bank. Hoping you
understand that we are doing this for your own safety, we
suggest you to update your account , this update will maintain
the safety of your account. All you have to do is complete our
online secured form. Thank you .
Comment: No financial institution will require you to
respond to an email asking you to update your account. In
addition, I left in the typos, punctuation errors, and overall
poorly worded request just as it is. Finally, many of these
scams do not go to account holders as the phishers spam email
accounts in the hope that someone will take the bait.
2. Paypal Account. This scam is giving Paypal/eBay fits
as its says that billing information must be updated by you, the
recipient of the notice. Verbiage is included whereby "Paypal"
threatens to close your account if you do not respond, money
will be withheld, etc.
Comment: The first time I saw this note, I thought: huh?!
The nerve of Paypal! However, I forwarded the letter to Paypal
who confirmed its scammy nature.
3. ISP Fraud. An internet service provider has seen a
number of "their" letters surface in emails around the US. A
common request goes something like this: Dear
Comcast customer,
We recently attempted to charge your account but we seem to
receive an error when charging your card. This sometimes occurs
for a variety of reasons including card expiration, over limit,
suspicion of fraud, or several other technical difficulties.
Please visit the Comcast Service Center, by clicking on the
hyperlink shown below, and update your information so this issue
can be resolved.
Comcast Service Center
Thank you,
Chris Hammonds
Comcast Service Department
Comment: Another request to obtain valuable information
belonging to you. I have seen 3-4 variations of this letter, all
allegedly from Comcast.
Oftentimes, phishers will go to great lengths to copy the
company's logo and other pertinent information and include that
within the email. Almost without fail they provide a link for
you to click on so that you will go to a site thinking that it
is legitimate.
Once at the scam site, all kinds of questions will be asked of
you including: social security number, credit card information,
your address, and more. The more information you give, the
easier it will be for you to become a victim of identity theft
as the perpetrators assume your identity and open up multiple
accounts in your name.
Usually the consumer knows nothing of the scam until they
receive letters demanding payment for accounts opened up in
their name, calls from creditors, and rejected credit
applications because of assumed bad credit.
The best defense, of course, is to not respond to the email.
However, you can play an important part in stopping phishing
fraud by forwarding a copy of the message to the company being
mimicked. Their fraud department will be grateful and you will
help them [as well as policing authorities] in their quest to
stop phishers in their tracks.
About the author:
Matt Keegan is The
Article Writer covering topics as from Aviation
to Zoos.
|
