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Phishing is derived from the word fishing, just as a fish gets hooked and reeled in, there are thieves on the web building sites to mimic well known companies to do exactly that to you. This ties in closely with identity theft but more sophisticated. They started as a way to get your personal/business account info. These websites would commonly use junk email to lure you to click on a link. The email also closely resembled the company logo/graphics and sounded official or in some cases threatening to close your account if you didn't take action.
The FTC [Federal Trade Commission] a consumer protection agency, suggests these tips:
If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply or click on the link in the message. Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization in the e-mail using a telephone number you know to be real, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company's correct web address. DO NOT click on the link in the e-mail message.
Don't send personal or financial information. E-mail is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organizations website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browsers status bar or a URL for a website that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for "secure").
Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.
Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.
Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date. Some phishing e-mails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge. Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files.
Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.
A firewall helps make you invisible on the web and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It's especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection.
IE 7 has phishing prevention and protection built-in as does Firefox 2, which claims to have an even better one if you use that.
Report suspicious activity to the FTC. If you get spam that is phishing for information, forward it to spam@uce.gov.
If you believe you've been scammed, file your complaint at:
http://www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC's Identity Theft website at:
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft, to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from ID theft.
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Phishing Fraudulent and Malicious Websites
Phishing A Scary Way of Life
How Not To Get Hooked By A Phishing Scam
5 Tips for a Safe Online JobSearch
Cyber Crooks Go Phishing
Identity Theft Beware Of Phishing Attacks
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DERAILING IDENTITY THIEVES WHILE JOBSEARCHING PART I OF II
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Does Your Email Reputation System Have a Bad Rep
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Fishing for Fortunes Scam
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5 Tips for a Safe Online JobSearch
Cyber Crooks Go Phishing
Identity Theft Beware Of Phishing Attacks
Tips on Preventing Becoming the Victim of the Latest Online
5 Tips for a Safe Online JobSearch
DERAILING IDENTITY THIEVES WHILE JOBSEARCHING PART I OF II
3 Pervasive Phishing Scams
Phishing is bad very bad in this digital river
Identity Theft RR
Top 10 Ways To Protect Yourself From Online Identity Theft
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