With phishing attacks skyrocketing,
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a consumer alert detailing ways
Web surfers can avoid being fleeced by online scammers.
The FTC, which has aggressively targeted
phishing as a major problem for Internet users, warned that scammers
are using sophisticated, high-tech tricks to deceive consumers into
disclosing credit card numbers, bank account information, Social
Security numbers, passwords and other sensitive information.
In the consumer
alert, the FTC spelled out the common techniques used by phishers
purport to be a business or organization recipients may deal with, such as an ISP,
bank, online payment service or a government agency.
Usually, the message will urge the consumer to “update” or “validate”
his or her account information and will often threaten some dire
consequence for a non-response.
“The purpose of the bogus site? To trick
you into divulging your personal information so the operators can steal
your identity and run up bills or commit crimes in your name,” the
FTC said.
According to the consumer protection agency, Internet surfers should
adopt the following habits to avoid taking the phishing bait:
financial information, do not reply or click on the link in the message.
Legitimate companies do not collect this information via e-mail. If you
are concerned about your account, contact the organization in the e-mail
using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet
browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address. At no
time should you cut and paste the link included in the message.
secure method of transmitting sensitive information. If you initiate a
transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information
through an organization’s Web site, look for indicators that the site is
secure, like a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a
Web site that begins “https:” to ensure the site is secure. Be aware,
though, that some phishers have forged security icons.
receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges.
If your credit card or bank statement is late by more than a couple of
days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing
address and account balances.
e-mails contain software that can harm your computer or track your
activities on the Internet without your knowledge. Anti-virus software
and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such
unwanted files.
files from e-mails you receive, regardless of who sent them.
