Scam spammers’ tricks getting smarter: survey |
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Published
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Thu, 05 May 2005 15:05
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Online scams are growing to menacing proportions as was learnt from the recent Yougov survey by AOL. The survey found that nearly 50% of Internet users received so-called ‘phishing’ e-mails. The ‘phishers’ were getting more sophisticated and using hyperlinks which draw the victims to phony sites where they are tricked into revealing personal information such as banking passwords.
A ‘Phishing’ e-mails is one where a fraudster sends you mail that looks like it came from your bank (the replicating is so effective that it often looks genuine). The email would claim you have overdrawn so you get drawn into the mail where you unwittingly click on a link which tricks you into providing personal information such as security codes.
| It gets even worse: nearly one in 20 users (5%) had actually lost money through online scams. These include scams where people pay to make an online purchase (or get conned by a bogus email into placing an order and sending cash) where the goods never arrive.
A majority (53%) of people who had lost money through such phishing, understandably, were compensated neither by their credit card provider nor their bank. (Although some UK banks do claim that they are compensating losses incurred by their customers.) UK banks have lost close to £12m to such scams, during the last year alone.
11% of people who lost money this way are still hopeful of getting compensation.
25% of those who respond to such emails were not aware of the risk they were placing themselves at by revealing personal information.
The fraudsters had so far continued undetected because the amounts stolen were usually small.
A few steps of precaution can help protect you against phishing:
1. Install spam filters, anti-virus and firewall software.
2. Do not reply to emails that seem like they have come from your bank and certainly do not send personal details such as your password (your bank would never ask you for your password or security codes.)
3. Always ignore pop-ups and regard unsolicited emails with suspicion.
4. Check your bank statements and balance regularly; if you suspect anything amiss, contact your bank immediately and ensure everything is all right. Also make it a point to read your bank’s terms and conditions, so you would know the extent of their liability.
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