Phishing Scam
Brief
 Identity
theft is becoming one of the most worrying problems on the Internet today.
The perpetrators of this kind of fraud are using slick and convincing
methods to obtain your personal information to masquerade as yourself and
collect debts that you will ultimately be responsible for.
A little care and good habits can protect you from these
cyber-vultures.
Who are you giving your details to?
In this age of online banking and e-commerce, it is not unusual for any
of us to have passwords and accounts with all manner of businesses: Banking
institutions, Ebay, PayPal and so on. As with any passwords, it is important
to keep these account details private, to prevent unauthorised access to
your accounts.
A recent increasing trend we have noticed in processing mail here at the
Helpdesk is the use of official looking emails which appear to come from
reputable businesses, or more recently referring to your work computer
account, asking for you to confirm your details. These are what are known as
a ‘Phishing Scam’ – a sophisticated attempt to collect your username and
password for using your account or to commit what is called ‘Identity
Theft’. This involves the gathering of information from another person to
assume that identity, and gain further accounts, credit and run up large
amounts of debt which the original identity is responsible for. An article
by Four Corners from the ABC about Identity Theft is listed at the end of
this document.
 In
the interests of keeping your data and accounts safe, here are a few hints
that we have compiled for your information so you can sniff out a scam and
stay one step ahead of the fraudsters.
- Legitimate businesses and banks will not prompt you for details by
email, and explicitly state this as a part of their service.
- If information is required, they usually will not provide you with a
link to click on. The reason for this is that links can easily be forged
to point to another site, which is used to harvest your information. If
you are unsure of the authenticity of the email, DO NOT follow the link
provided, log into your account in the normal way through the business’
web site, and then verify that any details are required.
- When you are accessing your Internet banking site, check for the
padlock icon in Internet Explorer (
 ),
also the address should show “https:// …” at the start.
- Typical fraudulent emails will advise that your account will be
suspended/cancelled/removed unless you fill in your details. This is
simply a way to “scare” you into entering your details.
- When you sign up for an account with a business, you generally enter
your name. The scammers do not have access to this information, and as a
result most of the false emails are usually titled along the lines of
‘Dear Customer’. This is a good way to filter out any false emails.
- These emails are generally broadly targeted, so you may find that
you do not have an account at the institution that is asking you to
update your information.
- Do NOT open any attachments on emails that you believe to be false.
These attachments are often the payload to a virus or will install
software on your computer that allows scammers to pull information
directly from your machine. It is safer to delete the suspected email
without opening the attachments and without replying to it.
- Any correspondence related to your work account will be addressed
from ‘Help at Computer Image’, and will include a name of a Helpdesk
operator.
By following these simple steps, you can use all of your e-banking and
e-business facilities with confidence and be assured that you are not giving
your information or identity to someone who shouldn’t have the information.
For further reading on ‘Identity Theft’ and ‘Phishing’, please refer to
any of websites listed below.
If you receive an email that you believe to be
part of such a fraud scam, feel free to contact the HelpDesk at Computer
Image on 0500 500 253.
ABC’s Four Corners Report On Identity Theft:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2005/s1435556.htm
US Federal Trade Commission Phishing Avoidance Tips:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm
A Not-For-Profit group dedicated to removing internet scams and fraud.
http://anti-phishing.org/
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