Phishing: Examples and its prevention methods

Have you ever heard "Phishing"? Please do not be confused with Fish with Phish.

According to the definiton in Wikipedia, Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames,passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Phishing scams always appear in:

• e-mail messages that pretending to be from your bank, paypal, ebay and etc
• social networking Web site
• fake Web site that accepts donations for charity
• Web sites that spoof your familiar sites using slightly different Web addresses
• your instant message program
• your cell phone or other mobile device

Examples:

This phishing scam targets Washington Mutual Bank customers and requires customers to confirm ATM card details in order to update the new security measure. The victim is eventually directed to visit a fraudulent site and private information entered on that site is sent to the attacker.

This is another example, although the link apparently is linked to Woodarovebank, but when you rest your mouse pointer on the link, it is actually another link.

Prevention Methods:
1)Be suspicious of any email that ask for your private information

2)Don't click the suspicious links provided in any channels

3)Ensure that you're using a secure website

4)Always look at the address line, be aware of where you are going.

5)Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card satements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate

6)Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied

Useful links:
1) Phishing Scams

2)Solutions: After Given Out Your Personal Financial Information