PHISHING

1.With the rapid growth in online business transactions, a new phenomenon in identity theft called 'phishing' has emerged.

2.In this process, hackers use e-mails as bait over the Internet to hook you into giving your personal data such as passwords, credit or debit card numbers, or other personal information.So what is the modus operandi of these hackers?

3.A typical way of doing it is by sending out mass mailers where they request you to provide personal information. Even if a small percentage of people respond, they are able to achieve their goals. They use online mechanisms called spiders, which grab e-mail addresses over the Internet.

4.E-mail addresses that have been posted on chat rooms; forums or websites are most susceptible to this tactic.These e-mails sent by phishers closely resemble genuine e-mails that could have been sent to you by your bank, credit card issuer or online transaction portal.

5.They generally ask you to reconfirm or verify your personal details with them, stating that they are updating their database.

6.Sometimes they even use the 'threat tactic' that there are certain problems with your account and it would be closed or suspended, if you do not respond within a certain time period.

7.Other methods of doing it is by using malware, which redirect your response to their website or spyware that collects data from your computer and transmits it to them.

8.Tell-tale signs:If a mail starts with: "Dear Customer" - Personal mails from service providers should contain your name, especially if they are important. Mass mails sent by phishers generally do not contain names of the addressees. "Your account will be closed in 72 hours if you don't respond" - The idea is to instill a false sense of urgency and make one act without thinking and provide the information asked for."Please verify you details with us" -

9.Most genuine service providers would never ask customers to send out sensitive data for reconfirmation on the Internet. Moreover, why would they need to verify the data online if they already have it?"Please click on the link below" - These are generally masked URL addresses that take you to a fraudulent site. "Alluring or urgent attachments" - Attachments sounding urgent or claiming to have mind-blowing pictures may contain malware or spyware.
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