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| Identity Thieves Use Phishing to Steal From You |
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| Written by Harvey Warmuth |
| Friday, 20 March 2009 13:02 |
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Over the last few years a new method to steal your identity has becoming increasingly popular. This method is know as phishing, which is the online version of actual fishing. Cast a line out there and see what is caught. This process uses emails that pretend to have been sent from a real company that you might have previously had contact with, such as a bank. The email is designed to trick you into clicking on a link that takes you to a fake website that asks for you to enter personal information. Again, this site will look like the real deal, but it is a fake. The main stream media has been devoting more attention to phishing exploits as they have become more common as of late. The whole phishing process has become very advanced, with it being very difficult to tell if you have received a phishing email, or are on a phishing website. It is very important that you be aware of emails you receive and links you click on. Phishing attacks can be thought of as a very innovative form of spam. Most spam is merely an advertisement trying to get you to click through to a website and make a purchase. But phishing takes this to a whole new level as they are trying to fool you into clicking through to a site and giving away personal information that is valuable. There is really no limit to the damage that criminals can cause once they have you caught up in a phishing scheme. An example would be if you unwittingly gave up your log in information to an online banking account, the thief would be able to do whatever they wanted with your account and associated funds. Attempting to notify the appropriate authorities about a phishing scheme really does little good. Most phishing sites are live for a very short time, just time enough to dupe a few unsuspecting victims into giving up valuable information. Then the sites are shut down and the thieves move on. And because most of the large phishing schemes are run by overseas criminals, even if the authorities could track them down, there is little that they can do. Your best defense to a phishing attack is to not click on any email links and to protect your identity with some sort of identity protection service. Criminals are using phishing as just yet another tool in their arsenal to get your information so that they can use it to commit fraud. It is a good practice to never click on links that are inside emails, and to always make sure you are using a high quality identity protection solution. About the Author: Harvey Warmuth protects his family with an identity theft solution. You can read his LifeLock reviews, which features one of his favorites. Visit his website to learn how to protect yourself: Identity Theft Alert Kindly provided by LJ-Marketing.dk You are welcome to use this article on your own website, if you include the link just before this text. |
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