Introduction
It seems like you're hearing more about phishing attacks or receiving more phishy emails than you did a year ago,
you're not imagining it. According to the recent Phishing Activity Trends Report from the
Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG),
the number of reported unique phishing site URLs jumped 757 percent, from 4,367 in October of 2005 to 37,444 one year later.
Newspapers, blogs and RSS feeds carry sad sagas of lost identities and pilfered life savings on an all too frequent basis.
Consider the recent stories In an Instant, Retirement
Savings Vanish published by MSNBC, or the Washington Post's Not Your Average Phishing Scam.
Even if you haven't fallen a victim to this ubiquitous crime, improve your odds by following the steps listed below.
Remember, the identity, headaches and $$$ you save may be your own.
According to the APWG:
"Phishing attacks use both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers'
personal identity data and financial account credentials.
Social-engineering schemes use 'spoofed' e-mails to lead consumers to counterfeit web sites designed
to trick recipients into divulging financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords
and social security numbers. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers and credit card companies, phishers
often convince recipients to respond.
Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal credentials directly,
often using Trojan keylogger spyware. Pharming crimeware misdirects users to fraudulent sites or
proxy servers, typically through DNS hijacking or poisoning."
Extra: Origin of the term on "phishing"
The simplest 1-2-3 advice is: 1. Be wary 2. Stay vigilant 3. Use common sense. For a few specifics, follow this APWG list of tips to prevent being hooked by a phishing attempt:
- Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information.
- Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you
suspect the message might not be authentic or you don't know the sender or user's handle.
- Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information.
- Always ensure that you're using a secure web site when submitting credit card or other
sensitive information via your Web browser.
- Remember not all scam sites will try to show the "https://" and/or the security lock.
Get in the habit of looking at the address line, too. Were you directed to PayPal? Does the address line display
something different like "http://www.gotyouscammed.com/paypal/login.htm?" Be aware of where you are going.
- Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known fraudulent web sites.
These toolbars match where you are going with lists of known phisher Web sites and will alert you.
- Regularly log into your online accounts.
- Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate.
- Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied .
- Report "phishing" or “spoofed” e-mails.
Read the full article Consumer Advice: How to Avoid Phishing Scams for more details. See also the FTC Consumer Alert: How Not to Get Hooked by a 'Phishing' Scam.
There are several excellent tutorials to help you spot phishing attempts and learn how to avoid them,
and quizzes to test your awareness of various phishing tactics. You may wish to check out one
or more of the following listed here.
Tutorials
Understanding the Characteristics of a Phishing Email
Explains how to sniff out the tell-tale signs of a phishy piece of email
(updated on January 04, 2006)
Video Tutorial from Dev Television
Walks you through a variety of phishing emails (approximate 20 minute running time)
AT&T Online Tutorial (August 2006)
What you should know about phishing scams (Microsoft)
Quizzes
10 Tips to Combat Fishing (from Panda Software)
Phishing Scams: Avoid the Bait (from OnguardOnline.gov)
SonicWALL Phishing IQ (formerly the MailFrontier Phishing IQ)
Contact Us
For general IT Security questions or to report a computing security incident, contact
ITSecurity@brown.edu or via the CIS Help Desk, 863-4357 (x3-HELP).
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