How phishing works

HowStuffWorks, the bastion of cool information online, has published a new article about how phishing works. Phishing is a specific kind of cyber-identity theft where a thief sends fake emails that appear to be authentic. When you login through these emails to what you are lead to believe is really your Amazon, PayPal or Bank of America account, the thief steals your personal information.

A few months ago, I was in contact with a young mother who had received an email that looked like it was from eBay. The message said that there was a problem with her account and she needed to make some updates online. When she clicked on the links in the email she was sent to a web page that looked like eBay but was actually a fake. She entered her mailing address, birth date, credit card information and finally even her Social Security number before she discovered it was a scam. She spent the next few weeks closing all of her accounts, reporting the crime and worrying about the consequences of what she had done.

Web sites that are commonly misrepresented by phishers have now developed special websites just to inform consumers about these scams. For example, eBay has an online "Spoof Email Tutorial" that is definitely worth reading. When you are not sure about the authenticity of an email, check that the email address and URL of the site is authentic. You can also contact the business by phone to see if it is real or a phishing scam. Or, even better, type in the URL yourself instead of following the links in the email provided. It's better to be safe than sorry.