PhishingPhishing has become a major problem on the Internet. It can lead to identity theft where someone steals credit card numbers, bank account numbers and social security numbers and uses them without the true owner's knowledge. These email scams are made to appear as if they are from a bank, credit union, Paypal or some other financial institution. Many are made to appear as if they come from Paypal. The email will usually state that there is a problem with the account that requires logging in with a user name and password. A link is provided that sends the recipient to a fake website that has been copied from the real one. If the person receiving the email responds and provides this information, the scammer will have access to accounts and places on the internet that use this information. Once after logging in, the user is asked for additional information. The information can be name, address, telephone number and occupation as well as bank account numbers, credit card numbers, SSN, etc. Phishing emails are usually recognized by the name of a bank that the scammer is posing as. The name of the bank is usually unknown to the person reading the email. The subject heading may have something that says, "Your account has been suspended." When the email is opened, the person then has to fix the problem by logging in and providing information. One way to tell if an email is a phishing scam is to check the link in the message. By placing the mouse pointer over the link without clicking, the URL of the website will show up at the bottom of the browser. If the URL does not contain the name of the bank or the name of the bank is not in the domain name, it could indicate that the email is a phishing email. |