Phishing - Definition and Descriptions

Friday, January 21, 2005

Phishing - It's NOT what's for dinner. This PH version of one of America's favorite pass time is anything but fun or relaxing. Phishing scams have become one of the greatest threats to your online security.

Phishing is a type of scam that uses "spoofed" e-mails, popups, and fake cloned websites that are all designed to trick you into revealing your personal and confidential information. The information that is most often sought after by phishers is your banking information. Information such as your financial institutions, your banking account numbers and other information such as usernames, passwords, or PIN numbers. Your credit card numbers, social security number, drivers license, and any other form of personal identification are also sought after.

According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), phishing attacks increased by 180 percent between April and May 2004, demonstrating that cyber-crooks are rapidly turning to this kind of fraud device.

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