Linux for Travelers - Phishing

Phishing Test: Can You Spot the Fake Email?

LFT — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 03:26:02 -0400

Mailfrontier.com has an interesting phishing test. They show you 10 emails and ask you to spot the fake ones.

Give the test a try and see if you can spot the fraudulent emails 100% of the time...

The web page also has some interesting facts about phishing:

5.7 billion phishing emails are sent daily
A successful phishing attack causes a victim to lose an average of $1,200
and more

Phishing

LFT — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 19:55:07 -0400

I mentioned phishing recently. I just got a phishing attempt in one of my email accounts so I have a good example to show.

The following email looks like it might be from eBay, but it is from an Internet criminal. The links in phishing emails usually lead to fake web sites where you are tricked into giving your credit card or other financial information. Notice how the email describes how you will need to update your credit card information.

Because this email is addressed to "eBay user" and not my real name, I know it is probably fake. Another clue that it is fake is that I don't have an eBay account. If I couldn't determine whether it were real or not, I would open a browser and type in http://www.ebay.com and login on the actual eBay site. Never click on links in these kinds of emails.

Phishers Bypass Two-Factor Authentication

LFT — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 23:01:24 -0400

Phishing is a common form in Internet fraud, where criminals send you an email (for example) that pretends to be from a bank, PayPal, eBay, Amazon.com, or another web site. The emails often say things like, "Your password has been compromised. Please click here to login and update your password."

If you click on the link you are taken to a fake web site that looks just like the real thing. The criminals hope that you will enter your password and credit card information into their fake web site.

In a twist on the common form of phishing, a scam has been spotted where the criminal's web site asks you to type in your two-factor authentication code (example) and it automatically logs into your bank account with your credentials.