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Education: articles
Gone Phishing?
  It's
amazing how creative and advanced computer hackers are.
They have been able to attack some of the biggest companies
in America and cause havoc across the World Wide Web.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports internet
fraud accounted for 55% of all fraud reports for 2003.
Computer hackers have given headaches to over a half
a million consumers in 2003 to the tune of $430 million
in reported losses. All of this, and I'm still trying
to program my VCR!
The rate of electronic enhancements had left me feeling
vulnerable. This morning, I checked my personal email
and had 31 messages in my inbox. Only 12 of them were
from friends and family. The other 19 were trying to
sell me everything from books to mortgages, I was afraid
to open the ones from my family; I've had to replace
a personal computer because of a virus and didn't want
another one. I felt uneasy and decided it was time I
did something about it. My research lead me to the Federal
Trade Commission's website (www.ftc.gov).
Here's what they had to say, and what I learned about
'phishing'. Maybe it will help you protect your computer,
identity, checkbook, and kids a little more.
Phishing is a scam that has affected major companies
including AOL, Verizon, Wells Fargo, and Citibank. How
it works is you receive an email that appears to be
from a well-know company asking you to verify some type
of personal information. The fact is: the email you
received could be just a stolen copy of a well known
company's logo and website. Computer hackers, known
as phishers in this case, use any means necessary to
get recipients of these emails to click onto a fraudulent
web site designed to trick them into divulging personal
data such as credit card numbers, financial account
usernames and passwords, Social Security numbers, etc.
by making the bogus website look like the real ones.
How do they do it? The message usually
has some sense of urgency to it and requests that you
click on the website link to update or validate your
account information. It may even threaten some level
of consequence if you don't respond immediately, it
might say your account will be closed or sent to a collection
agency. Sometimes, just clicking on the email is enough
for the phishers to attach a virus or computer program
to your computer that tracks your every keystroke; you
may be more familiar with this practice by the name
Spyware. While these programs are sometimes sinister,
like a remote control program used by a hacker to monitor
your online checking account activity and purchases
with valid credit and check cards, software companies
have been known to use Spyware to gather data about
customers for marketing and other purposes. The use
of this practice is generally frowned upon.
How do you protect yourself? According
to the FTC, there are some steps to take to make it
harder for you to become a victim:
- Do not open, reply, or click on a link in any message
or pop-up ad you get asking for personal or financial
information.
- Do not email personal or financial information to
anyone. Email is not a secured avenue of communication.
- Verify the accuracy of all credit card and financial
account statements when the statements arrive. If
your statements are late by more than a day or two,
contact your credit card company or financial institution
to review your account balances and verify your mailing
address. Save your receipts and review the accuracy
of your account activity on your statement. Try keeping
a checkbook register of your credit card activity,
it helps not only verify your account activity, but
it gives you an accurate picture of your spending
(and you won't be afraid to open the billing statement!)
- Use anti-virus software and firewall on your computer.
They can help protect you from inadvertently accepting
infected and bogus emails. Anti-virus software scans
incoming communication and firewalls help make you
'invisible' on the internet and block communication
from unauthorized sources. When looking for anti-virus
software, make sure it's programmed to recognize current
as well as older viruses, that it can effectively
repair any damage, and that it has the capability
to update automatically.
- Be cautious and use common sense when using the
internet. If you are unfamiliar with the source of
the email, don't open any attachment or download any
files, delete it — don't open it. Don't open
pop-up ads. Verify web addresses by retyping the address
you're familiar with for a company and don't use the
one provided by an email solicitation. Google it if
you wish to verify an address.
- Report suspicious activity to the FTC. The FTC,
"works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent,
deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace
and to provide information to help consumers spot,
stop, and avoid them." If you receive phishing
emails or spam that is prompting you for your information,
forward it to spam@uce.gov.
If you've been a victim of an internet scheme, file
a complaint at www.ftc.gov,
and then visit the FTC's Identity Theft website at
www.consumer.gov/spam
to minimize the consequences of identity theft.
For more tips, check out the Credit Union article,
Protecting Your Good Name
from Identity Theft.
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