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Gone Phishing and your the fish! |
Believe it or not, there are rascals inhabiting this very
planet, their consequence emanates from under the woodwork
everywhere, and arrives without warning at your inbox.
These communiqu©s, in the form of emails, are simply the
result of people who have gone “phishing,” not to be
confused with the term “gone fishing,” a practice no one
seems to object to except maybe the fish. Still these
rogues are after a fish, and the fish my friend is you!
Phishing employs both technical schemes and reliance on
your lack of caution, to gain your personal identity and
financial information data.
The way they hook their victim is through a cloaked link
(the bait) leading their unsuspecting fish, that’s you, to
a counterfeit website carefully designed to trick their
catch (you) into divulging private financial data such as,
credit card numbers, usernames, passwords, social security
numbers, and so forth.
These traps are intermingled with everyday spam, or
whatever passes as spam, littering your inbox. In reality,
ordinary spam is merely bothersome at worst, requiring its
disposal through excessive use of the delete key, yet
phishing can be far more destructive.
These deceptive ploys fraught with harmful intentions are
daily appearing in mail boxes everywhere, arriving from
outside and inside the country highlighting the Internets
lack of policing and our peril.
An email message can be a useful and handy tool, yet it’s
tailor-made for this type of villain. The reminder you
receive can appear as a genuine concern from a business you
are doing commerce with, and have already entrusted your
personal information.
The subject line of these bogus emails reads something
like, “We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your
account,” then sets the hook by declaring only “good
intentions” by stating, “To ensure your account is not
compromised, please click the link below and confirm your
identity.”
Or, the phony email might assert that, “During our regular
verification of accounts we couldn’t verify your
information.” This phrase is calculated to put you into a
panic, then comes the bait, please click here to update and
verify your information.” And, if you do, they win!
And yes, I am not too proud to admit a close friend of
mine, in his newbie days, fell prey to this blatant
deception. Come to think of it, his name and description is
curiously the same as mine. Oh well, I know it couldn’t
have been me, as I wouldn’t fall for such a ruse. Then
again!
Following this incident, I have developed a simple rule, I
never respond through any email allegedly from anyone I’m
doing business with, regardless of my lack of suspicion.
Where I feel it’s of proper concern, I go directly through
my browser to the site, enter and check it out.
This advice I offer you like a brother, never react
directly with any message that poses a serious concern and
provides a “convenient” link for you to deposit your
critical information. It could be the most costly mistake
of your life.
While there are sites where you can forward these poison
pills, your only real protection, is you. Don’t rely on any
company, notwithstanding their plausible concerns, for in
the end, you retain the power of the delete button, use it
wisely.
By the bye, phishing is often referred to as “spoofing,”
what a harmless expression. As if, “sure I stole your
identity, cleaned out your bank account, left you with huge
financial losses to overcome, but hey, I was only
spoofing!”
Joe Myna is webmaster at www.anezbizz.com www.ahow2.com and
abbarn.com, involved in direct marketing for the past 30
years. Mr. Myna first went online in 1996. Mr. Myna is
author of "Internet Profits - The Quick Way" Download at
http://www.anezbizz.com/quick.htm
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