Planet Antares Scam Solutions – Avoiding Phishing Scams
How Phishing Scams Work - Planet Antares Scam Solutions
Phishing (pronounced “fishing”) is a type of online scam that entices a person to relay private login and password information for their banking or credit card accounts. A phishing attack relies on a potential victim’s belief that an email has been sent from the victim’s bank or credit card company.
Often, the scam email reports that a bank or credit card account has been disabled due to a perceived security threat, and the user must log in to verify his or her identity to reactivate the account. A link is provided with the email. Often the phishing email uses the bank’s logo to increase the user’s sense of security about the sender.
The link takes the user to a login page that appears to be identical to the online login screen. The user enters his or her login ID and password and presses the button to log in. Nothing appears to happen. Pressing the button a second time may actually take the user to the legitimate login site.
What’s really happened is that the link directed the user to a phony Web site that was designed to look like the legitimate site. The fake login page captures the user’s login and password information, which is then used by the scammer to access the victim’s banking or credit card information.
This is one of many different phishing scams. The point of these scams is to collect banking or financial information by fooling visitors into thinking that they’re dealing with their own financial institution.
To avoid phishing scams, follow these tips:
Know your bank. Your bank won’t contact you by email if there’s a problem with one or more of your accounts. They will notify you in writing, or if the matter is urgent, they’ll call you by phone.
Don’t “verify” your login information. Your bank will never ask you for your banking password because, between you and the bank, you’re the only one who needs it to get into your account.
Don’t follow links. If you need to log into a banking site, go directly to the site by typing the URL. The embedded email link may be handy, but it probably won’t take you where you want to go.
Verify email requests. If you’re still uncertain about the origin of any email correspondence, contact the original sender by telephone to verify the legitimacy of the request.
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