Phishing: Examples and its prevention methods.

Phishing is the new 21st century crime. It is the practice of sending out fake emails, or spam, written to appear as if they have been sent by banks or others organisations, with the intent of luring the recipient into revealing sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, account number, ATM pins or credit card details.

Examples:

Charlotte's Bank of America example

PayPal example

eBay example

Tagged.com example

Prevention methods

Following are some good practices to follow in order to avoid being a victim of phishing.
1. Always be wary of any email requesting personal information. Don't reply to
any suspicious looking emails or click on any links that you are not sure. You
can never be too cautious.

2. Always ensure that you are on a secure connection to a web server when
submitting personal information across the internet. Seeing an https://
appear in the URL instead of http:// and also seeing a picture of a locked
padlock in the lower right-hand corner of the browser window, not the
page itself.

3. Do not use your personal email address on online forms or any public forum
such as such as newsgroups and mailing lists. Doing so may cause you be
flooded with spam.

4. Avoid emails with urgent requests for financial, account, or email
information. Such as emails that ask for usernames and passwords, credit
card numbers, or other personal information.

5. Use antivirus and firewall software and keep them up to date using their
update features. Anti-virus software can detect and delete virus files
before they can attack a computer and firewall can protect computer from
being hacked into. Software can be use are such as AVG Antivirus, Avast
Home Edition, Sygate Personal firewall and Kerio Personal firewall.

6. Install Spyware removal software such as AdAware. Spyware are files that
can be installed on your computer, even if you don't want them, without your
knowing. They allow companies to monitor your internet browsing patterns.

7. Never buy anything from a company that sends you spam. Don't even visit
their sites or ask for more information.

8. Make sure to carefully review your bank statements to check for
unauthorized transactions. Many credit card companies have identity
protection features that will reimburse you for charges made by an
attacker, so long as they are promptly identified.