Third Party Applications and Websites
Even with a diligent security plan, and conscientious internet surfing, the use of third party applications can allow for personal information, especially email addresses, to be traded and sold by third party application creators. One of the most prominent results of this information becoming known is a proliferation of junk mail, or unsolicited e-mails, and an increased susceptibility to phishing scams.
The criminally fraudulent method of trying to obtain sensitive data by masquerading as a trustworthy source in the form of an email or other electronic communications.
Since the majority of people know enough not to reveal sensitive personal information like passwords, or bank account and credit card numbers, phishers often have to trick their victims into giving up the data.
By using emails with the logos or legitimate messages from actual companies, phishers will replace links or email addresses with their own fraudulent links and addresses in order to obtain your information.
The phishing message will often contain a message that elicits a sense of urgency in the victim to act immediately. The following are ways in which phishers often elicits responses from their targets: Threaten victims with account cancellation if they donât respond immediately, thanking victims for purchases that they never made, or asking victims to reset their username and password.
The point of a phishing email is to gain information by having the victim act before they think.
In all of these situations the victim is being threatened with some sort of loss or disruption so that he or she will be more willing to follow the phisherâs link and provide information in the hopes of resolving the issue.
Phishing Methods and Phrases:
In order to appear even more authentic, phishing messages will contain links that appear to go to a legitimate web site, but instead:
1)Â Â Â Â Â The victim will be taken to a fake scam site.
2)Â Â Â Â Â A pop-up window will appear that looks identical to the official site, but it actually part of the phishing site.
There are some phrases that you can look for if you suspect that an email might be part of a phishing scam:
âVerify your accountâ
Real businesses will not ask you to send your passwords, social security numbers, login names, or other personal data via email.
For example, if you receive an email from Microsoft requesting your credit card or banking information, do not respond. Microsoft would not ask for such information through an email communication. This is a phishing scam.
âYou have won the lotteryâ
There is a common phishing scam called the âadvanced fee fraudâ that is perpetrated using the promise of large cash winnings.
By promising victims that they have won a large sum of money in a lottery, phishers ask for a smaller sum of money as an advanced fee that is to be paid before the winnings can be delivered. In reality, there are no lottery winnings that will ever be delivered.
This scam often makes reference to large or prominent companies like Microsoft. In reality, there is no Microsoft lottery.
âIf you donât respond within 48 hours, your account will be closedâ
This type of message is created in order to produce a sense of urgency in order to elicit an immediate response from the victim.
Another common technique is for the phisher to send an email to the victim claiming that his or her account has been compromised.
