Beware of Online Scammers and Crime Rings
"Phishing":
Phishing involves scam emails that try to trick you into turning over your
personal information such as name, account number, PIN, mother's maiden
name, and credit card information, to a website that, while designed to
look like a legitimate bank or retailer, actually belongs to a phisher.
The phishers will use the information they glean to withdraw money from
victims' bank accounts. They may also make fake ATM cards and credit cards
with the information.
Precautions: Don't Take the Bait!
The latest ploy of ID thieves is to send consumers official-looking e-mail messages that appear to come from companies you've done business with. The e-mail messages request passwords and other personal data. The practice of "phishing" can dupe even savvy consumers. When in doubt, you can either verify by phone or go directly to the company's Website to make sure that the e-mail is real. You can also just ignore the spam emails and not click on the links provided in the messages.
"Pharming": In "pharming," scammers redirect a consumer to an imposter Web page even when the individual types the correct address into his or her browser. They can do this by changing - or "poisoning" - some of the address information that Internet service providers store to speed up Web browsing.
Precautions: Look for the "lock" icon in your browser.
The Web addresses for secure pages begin with "https" rather than the standard "http." You can also protect yourself by using Monesafe, which always provides secure connection to the financial sites you enter in it. Because pharming is harder to detect, having secured access to sensitive sites is very important in fighting identity thieves.
"Evil Twins": Evil Twins are wireless networks that pretend to offer trustworthy Wi-Fi connections to the Internet like those available at some coffee shops, hotels and conferences. Fraudsters who set up the connections attempt to capture any passwords or credit-card numbers that consumers using the link may type.
Precautions: Turn your laptop's Wi-Fi function off when not in use to avoid accidentally connecting to an evil twin.
Crime rings mimic big business: The Web offers criminals more efficient tools to harvest personal data and to communicate easily with large groups on multiple continents. Police are finding well-run, hierarchical groups that are structured like businesses. Some Web sites act as online bazaars for stolen personal information. The sites are often password-protected and ask new members to prove their criminal credentials by offering samples of stolen data. The big change behind the expansion of identity theft, law-enforcement agencies say, is the growth of online scams.
Precautions: Become more vigilant when you're online
Most people pay more attention to securing their car than protecting personal data, so a change in attitude can make a big difference:- Always make sure you land on special Web pages that use encryption to protect data transfer. And only make personal transactions with a company through the firm's secure site - never send personal data directly through an email message.
- Safeguard your computer with updated virus scan software, install a firewall to prevent hackers from accessing your system.
- Make sure you're dealing with a reputable company. Numerous misspellings or grammatical errors in any documents or sites you access are often strong signs of suspicious activity. If you have any doubts about whether a company's site is genuine, contact the firm yourself to check.
