Phishing For Your Personal Identity

Have you ever received an email from a familiar company asking you to go to a website to confirm your login details? The message usually says something about the fact that there was an error in a recent transaction and that you will lose the transaction, perhaps a bank deposit, if you don't login and remedy the solution. The email looks very legitimate and the company is well-known and one that you recognize. So, being a bit concerned, you click on the link and login.

You find out much later, unfortunately, that the website is bogus. It was created with the sole intent to steal your personal information. You have just been a victim of a "phishing" expedition.

Phishing (pronounced as "fishing") is the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have a legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to fool the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal their identity.

It is not at easy as you may think to spot an email that is phishing for information. The email that you receive will have been carefully crafted to appear to be from a legitimate company, like a major bank or PayPal. The "From" field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail. The clickable link even appears to take you to the company's website. However, this is a completely bogus site crafted to look exactly like the company that it is pretending to be.

These phishing emails are dangerous. Don't take them lightly. The individuals behind these emails are serious about their illegal activities. They have spent a great deal of time and effort in creating their emails. You need to be very cautious about all emails requesting personal information. Most legitimate companies will not send you an email requesting that you reveal sensitive information.

You should be aware that the "From Field" in the email that you receive can easily be changed by the sender. The email will look like it is coming from a company that you are familiar with. However, looks can be deceiving. Keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in attempting to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will usually use logos or images from the legitimate site. Finally, they usually include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information.

A great way to check the legitimacy of the link is to point at the link with your mouse. Then, look in the bottom left hand screen of your computer. The actual website address to which you are being directed will show up for you to view. It is a very quick and easy way to check if you are being directed to a legitimate site. The address that you will see is usually fairly long and complicated. For example, if they were masquerading as PayPal, rather than an address such as www.paypal.com/login, it could be something like www.paypal.mqrs.com/?login/142647/4598.php

Never click the links within the text of the fraudulent e-mail. As well, you should always delete the e-mail immediately. Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well. If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. You can then be confident that you are, in fact, being directed to the true and legitimate website. You can also notify security at the legitimate company and let them know that you have received a "phishing" email.

Article Source: http://www.exclusive-article.com

Bill Westergate is a computer consultant who frequently writes on technology topics. For free spyware resources visit Spyware Removal Free or get NoAdware for free and rid your computer of malicious adware and spyware.

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