Spear Phishing Scams-Netting your personal information.
A new breed of scammers have surfaced which seem to target select groups of people who have something in common eg work at a same organization, have bank accounts at the same financial institution etc. Victims get emails from organizations or individuals from whom they normally get emails from. This aspect makes spear phishing even more deceptive than normal phishing scams.
Spear phishing criminals gather some insider information about their prospective victims so that the emails sent to the victims seem legitimate. Carefully selected language and terminologies in the emails coax the potential victims into divulging their personal information. Victims are then asked to click on a link provided in the email which takes them to the spear phishers website and there one is asked to provide user Ids, access codes, PIN numbers etc.
This valuable information can then be used by spear phishers to access bank accounts, use credit cards, do online shopping etc. By clicking on the link in their email, spear phishers can also download spyware and malware to your computer which can then be used to commit even serious crimes such as hijacking of computers and thereby using them for denial of service attacks.
The FBI in conjunction with the IC3 suggests some simple guidelines to safeguard personal information:
Reputed and genuine financial institutions DO NOT ask for personal information on the internet or over the phone. Any such request either through an email or through a call, should not be answered.
Installing a phishing filter would definitely provide insulation from spear phishing.
Accessing a link provided in an email is a sure way to jeopardize personal information.
Reporting any such activities and encouraging people around to report such matters, would go a long way in striking at the root of such crimes.
Related posts:
- Phishers targeting Northwestern Bank
- Charity Fraud-Tips to stay safe!
- How to Spot a Phising -Email Scam !
- Think twice before taking on Phishing Fraudsters
- Email Phishing scam calling on San Jose State University students
