Cyber-criminals have been capitalizing on the global financial crisis in the past several weeks by increasing the volume of phishing and spam messages being sent.
These emails are not much different from older attacks, but because they are topical and look authentic, nervous consumers are at risk for falling for the scam.
Internet users should be on alert for fake emails that look as if they have come from an authentic financial institution. These phishing messages are seeking personal information – account numbers, passwords and Social Security numbers - which cyber-criminals will use to empty out accounts, and then sell on the underground market.
These e-mails (usually) contain links which take you very legit-looking login websites, which in fact are created by the crook. This short video from the good folks at WOT demonstrates how this works.
Tip of the day: Follow these security tips to get protection from phishing attacks:
- Review your financial account statements as soon as you receive them
- Financial institutions never require customers to give account information via email. If you receive an email requesting this data, don't reply.
- Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software and update them regularly.
- Use a firewall.
- Use WOT as preventative protection against online threats to avoid spyware, browser hijacking, identity theft, phishing and other Internet scams.
- Always be suspicious of e-mail, and never click the link.
Today's free download: Yes, this is a repeat; but if you haven't downloaded the WOT browser plug-in, maybe today you'll go ahead and give it a try. Why not? It's light-weight, effective, easy to understand, and free!
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