Protect yourself from Phishing.
What is Phishing?
Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to trick the user into surrendering private information such as passwords, credit card, bank account, or social security numbers that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Website (that appears to be legitimate) where they’re asked to update personal information, that the real business already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.
How to avoid getting ‘Phished’?
NEVER respond to links in e-mails by clicking on them. It is possible to ‘spoof‘ the return address on e-mails and links making them appear to be a legitimate destination.
If you are concerned about the contents of an e-mail from a business you have an acct. with, visit the site by Typing the address into your browsers address bar, or use a bookmark you know to be safe. Note: Some scammers will buy domain-names that are similar to legitimate website addresses in order to capitalize on surfers who miss-spell addresses.
Another reason to avoid links in e-mails is that they are a popular way to spread computer viruses.
What else can be done to prevent ‘Phishing’.
Nobody’s perfect. If you are concerned about yourself, or someone else who uses your computer, becoming the victim of computer identity theft, consider SpoofGuard.
SpoofGuard is a free tool developed at the University of Stanford. “SpoofGuard is a browser plug in that is compatible with Microsoft Internet Explore. SpoofGuard places a traffic light in your browser toolbar that turns from green to yellow to red as you navigate to a spoof site. If you try to enter sensitive information into a form from a spoof site, SpoofGuard will save your data and warn you. SpoofGuard warnings occur when alarm indicators reach a level that depends on parameters that are set by the user.”
Find out more about SpoofGuard at
http://crypto.stanford.edu/SpoofGuard/