Well, actually it is spelled "Pfishing" and not nearly as much fun as "Fishing"!
From a financial perspective, this is one of the most dangerous scams on the internet. Pfishing scams account for numerous cases of identity theft every day.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"In computing, phishing is a criminal activity using social engineering techniques.[1] Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Ebay and Paypal are two of the most targeted companies, and online banks are also common targets. Phishing is typically carried out using email or an instant message,[2] and often directs users to a website, although phone contact has been used as well.[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, and technical measures.The first recorded mention of phishing is on the alt.online-service.america-online Usenet newsgroup on January 2, 1996,[4] although the term may have appeared even earlier in the print edition of the hacker magazine 2600.[5] The term phishing is a variant of fishing,[6] probably influenced by phreaking,[7][8] and alludes to the use of increasingly sophisticated lures to "fish" for users' financial information and passwords. The word may also be linked to leetspeak, in which ph is a common substitution for f.[9] The popular theory that it is a portmanteau of password harvesting[10] is an example of folk etymology."
So, you ask, how does one protect against pfishing and identity theft? Actually, it's fairly easy. Your bank, eBay, Paypal and other reputable financial institutions will NEVER ask you to verify your personal or account information over the internet. So, whenever you get an email that asks you to verify any such information - delete it immediately, it's that simple. Don't even consider replying to the email - DELETE. If you suspect that someone in your family may have mistakenly given information in this way, then contact your bank immediately - by phone or in person.
Another safe practice - never, never send password or account information in any email. Email is never secure and should not be used for sensitive information.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Nasty Stuff First - Fishing!
More Nasty Stuff - that Nigerian Guy
These so-called Nigerian scams (because a lot of them originate from Nigeria) are usually pretty obvious, yet people loose millions of dollars every year to these thieves.
Basically, the thief says he needs help to collect a large sum of money in this country and needs a U.S. bank account to do it. He promises to share his "wealth" with the victim in exchange for using their bank account. Of course, all the thief really wants is that bank account number and some personal information to be used to break into the account.
Variations on this scam target vacation rental owners. The thief is planning a trip for a "client" and says he needs to send just one check to cover all the expenses. He asks the victim to take out their portion of the funds and write a check for the balance and send it on to the next hotel or next destination. The thief then sends the victim a fake cashiers check drawn on a foreign bank. By the time the victims bank finds out that the check is a phony - the victim has already sent a large sum (in a good check) to the thief's other address.
Bottom line is still the same - if it sounds too good to be true, it isn't.
