How Thieves Use Phishing Email For Identity TheftPhishing emails are similar to Spam Mails. The difference is in the tactic used. But both are annoying and hold potential threats of stealing identities. The characteristics of the mails are what separate Phishing and Spam mails. Phishing is fraudulent mail that tries to swindle identities, by gaining confidence of the receiver. The emails may include luring information however; the information is fraudulent and should be ignored. The sender wants the receivers to respond to the mails and may include links to click where the receiver will provide his/her personal or confidential information. The mail may have information that upsets the reader, thus it is another strategy, which the sender uses to force the receiver to respond. The mail may state "your account is being suspended," or it may claim "you have won x amount of cash, please respond now.' The mails are sent to nearly every email box in the world, and the soul purpose is to steal. Companies that claim you have won prizes will not ask for extensive information, rather they only ask for minimal information. Thus, when you receive Phishing Mails or Spam Mails the sender already has a degree of information on you from random selections, and when you answer the mails, you are only giving the sender the information he/she needs to claim your identity. Always know your credit card lenders phone numbers and bank numbers, thus when you receive one of these mails call the company immediately at the original phone number and ask if they have sent you mail. Few samples of Phishing Mails include information such as "Closed Account." The email address may appear to come from genuine banks. Recently, phishing mails came from "FDIC" claiming that the account holder's 'account has been frozen." The receiver was asked to click on the link provided in the body of the email and provide pertinent information now. Thus, the email continued to threaten the emotions of the receiver by claiming that the head nacho man has instructed the bank to discontinue any activity by you, under a particular Act. Few Phishing Mails request the receiver to download attachments with claims to store "Internet Billing Notice" and once the receiver downloads, they find them self in a whirl of problems, since Viruses, Trojans, or other nasty contaminates are attached to the mail. Knowing which company is legit is important and learning how they make offers to consumers is just as important to help you avoid identity theft. Personally, I delete any mail that comes to my box, regardless of whom the sender is, unless I know it is from my business or school. As a student, most of my work is done online, thus this too opens doors for perpetrators, since payments to the school are often required at the school. However, I ignore any commands to send payments online and send my payments through postal mail. Still, this is scary. |
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