Privacy, Security & Virus Information

The Facts On Phishing - What You Need To Know

With tens of thousands of crimes reported each year, damaging even the savviest of computer users, Phishing attacks have become a startling online epidemic. Phishing is a way of illegally obtaining personal documentation by sending spoofed information that appears to come from a trusted source.

Phishing attacks are becoming more popular in financial services. Often, a phishing attack can take the form of what appears to be a legitimate website - conning people to give up their account names and passwords. Obvious tricks involve sending a message from ebay stating that a person's credit card had been declined, or from a 'bank' claiming to have detected unauthorized activity on their bank account. Once clicked, the e-mail will direct your browser to a fake pop-up, which will then ask you to enter confidential log-in details before sending you onto the real site - a technique known as 'pharming'. Always be aware of what you are entering when you access an unfamiliar webpage.

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