It is not uncommon these days to receive an email from a well-known, legitimate company alerting you to the fact that a recent online transaction had a problem. The email informs you that you will need to login to their website using your user name and password in order to rectify the problem. Since the email seems to be legitimate and the "from field" indicates that the email in fact, comes from the company, you click the link and login to your account.
You find out much later, unfortunately, that the website is bogus. It was created with the sole intent to steal your personal information. You have just been a victim of a "phishing" expedition.
Phishing (pronounced as "fishing") is the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have a legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to fool the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal their identity.
It is often not easy to spot an email that is phishing for information. The email will appear to be from a legitimate companyl. The "From" field of the e-mail will probably have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail. The clickable link even looks like it will take you to the company's website. However, the site you arrive at is a fake and it's only purpose is to steal your information. The user name and password that you may enter will be stored and then used by the criminal at the legitimate site to gain access to your information.
These phishing emails are never harmless. The people behind these emails are serious about their criminal activities. They have spent a great deal of time in creating emails that look authentic. You need to be very cautious about all emails requesting personal information. Keep in mind that most legitimate companies will not send you an email asking you to login to your account.
When reviewing your email remember that the "From Field" can be easily changed by the sender. While it may look like it is coming from a company that you do business with, looks can be deceiving. Also keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails. Finally, they like to include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information.
One way to check the legitimacy of the link is to point at the link with your mouse and observe the address in the bottom left hand screen of your computer. The actual website address to which you are being directed will be revealed here. It is a quick and easy way to check if you are being directed to a legitimate site. The address revealed is usually fairly long and complicated. For example, if they were masquerading as Amazon, rather than an address such as www.amazon.com/login, it could be something like www.amazon.mqrs.com/?login/142647/4598.php
You should never click the links within the text of the e-mail, and delete the e-mail immediately. If you are truly concerned about your account, then type the full URL address of the legitimate website into your browser. You can then be confident that you are, in fact, being directed to the true and legitimate website.
Bill Westergate is a computer guru who frequently writes on technology topics. For free spyware tools go to Spyware Removal Free or get NoAdware for free and rid your computer of destructive adware and spyware.
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