Phishing
What is "Phishing"?
Phishing is simply an attempt by electronic means to gather important information from people. It is a variant of the word "fishing" and is pronounced the same way. What is being 'phished for' is information, typically sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and social insurance numbers. Phishers most frequently use e-mail to pretend to be a trusted third party such as a Bank, Government Organization or Internet Service Provider (ISP). The content of a phishing e-mail message will often be laid out with images from the organization that the is phisher is pretending to be in order to make the email appear authentic.
Most phishing emails will contain a link that directs the reader to "log in" or provide information in order to keep their account active or safe. At first glance the link will appear to direct the reader to a proper web page for the organization in question, as the web page will also be 'dressed up' (just like the phishing email) with company logos and graphics to make it look legitimate. Anything typed into the fake page is then sent to the phisher.
Spotting Phishing Attempts:
Phishing attempts are typically easy to pick up on. Here's a few simple ways to pick up on a phishing email:
What can you do:
You can take steps to avoid phishing attempts by slightly modifying your browsing habits. When contacted about an account needing to be "verified" (or any other topic used by phishers), it is a sensible precaution to contact the company from which the email apparently originates to check that the email is legitimate. Alternatively, the address that the individual knows is the company's genuine website can be typed into the address bar of the browser, rather than trusting any hyperlinks in the suspected phishing message. (Source: www.wikipedia.org)
If you want to learn more about phishing, Wikipedia has a good deal of information on the subject, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
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