Klarinet Archive - Posting 000052.txt from 2005/01

From: "David C Kumpf" <dkumpf@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Probable ebay scam on basset clarinet
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2005 10:21:56 -0500

Rommel John Miller wrote:
> Is this an instance of what is being refered to as "Phishing?"
> Personally, I find such usury to be not only unethical, but a
> gross abuse of human trust.
>
> It is a real shame people have to be so bloody deceptive.

In a phishing scam, you get an email that appears to be an official
communication from PayPal, eBay, or a bank, explaining that there is some
problem with your account. The email contains a link on which you are to
click and "provide corrected information". The link appears to be from the
institution, but using some URL-rewriting capability, actually takes you to
a fraudulent page on the phisher's website - which also appears to be
official. You enter the requested information, and now the phisher has
everything necessary to commit identity theft.

I get about 3-5 of these today, nearly all of them from banks at which I do
not have accounts.

Moral: if you need to access your accounts online, don't click on links in
emails. To go to the institution's website, type in the URL yourself. And
ensure that the institution is using SSL-secured transactions (login and
transaction page URLs will start with "https" instead of "http" and the
browser will show a padlock or other similar icon in the status bar to
indicate that SSL is being used for encryption of information transmitted or
received).

Dave Kumpf
dkumpf@-----.com

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