Go To Email Marketing Home | Add to Favorites
The Bad Guys Are Phishing For Your Personal Information
Do you know what "phishing" is?
No, it doesn't mean you grab a pole and head to the late to catch some phish.
The official Webopedia definition of "phishing" is as follows:
The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.
Phishers prey on ignorance, fear, and emotion. They also play the numbers game. The more bait they email out, the more phish they'll catch.. By spamming large groups of people, the "phisher" counts on his email being read and believed by a percentage of people who will volunteer their personal and credit card information.
The latest attempt by identity theives to steal the personal information of eBay members hit my inbox earlier this week and I have to say, this one is pretty convincing. Even this old dog did a double-take before realizing that the identity thieves were phishing for my personal information again.
The sender of this email is listed as: eBay Member - rivernick and the email subject line reads: Question from eBay Member.
The email begins: "Question from eBay Member -- Respond Now. eBay sent this message on behalf of an eBay member via My Messages. Responses sent using email will not reach the eBay member. Use the Respond Now button below to respond to this message."
Listen to me: DON'T TOUCH THAT BUTTON
Of course the email was NOT sent by an eBay member or sent via eBay's messaging system, as it appears.
The email then takes on a threatening tone.
It reads: "Question from rivernick: I'm still waiting payment for my item for about 7 days. What happened? Please mail me ASAP or I will report you to ebay."
The recipient is then prompted to respond to this rather disturbing email by clicking a "Respond Now." button.
Doing so will take you to a website designed to look like eBay where you will be prompted to login using your eBay user name and password.
Once you pass this point you will be asked to update your account information before proceeding. Unknowing souls will offer not only their eBay password, but personal and credit card information, as well, without even knowing that they are about to have their personal information stolen.
The one thing that makes this scam so effective is the threat by the supposed eBay member to "report you to eBay."
The email preys on the fear of most eBay members that they are in danger of receiving negative feedback. Many eBayers would rather you cut off a pinky than leave them negative feedback. It is this emotion that the new phishers are hoping to hook.
The phisher is betting that most people will either be horrified by the threat of being wrongly reported to eBay or they will be ticked off that some jerk is threatening them by mistake.
Either way the phisher is counting on a percentage of people to have a knee-jerk reaction and login to the fake eBay website he has set up clear matters up.
I've yet to see what percentage of people who receive these phishing emails fall for the scam, but if a phisher gets 1f recipients to turn over their personal information, he will probably consider his phishing expedition a success.
I've warned you about these phishing scams before, but let's review it one more time.
NEVER reply directly to an email that appears to have come from eBay, Paypal, Amazon, or anyoen else asking you to click a link in the email to update your account information. If there is any doubt in your mind whether or not the email is really from eBay, for example, open a browser and type in the URL http://www.ebay.com. NEVER click a link within the email to respond.
NEVER believe that an email supposedly from another eBay member is for real. Again, do not click an email link to reply. Open a browser and go to eBay directly and log in. If the email was from a real member, there will be a record of the inquiry in your My eBay account.
You must be aware that there are bad guys out there who do nothing but spend time trying to come up with new and innovative ways to steal your information.
Be paranoid. Be aware. But don't be fooled.
The phishers will cast their line, but you do not have to take the bait.
Here's to your success!
About the author:
Tim serves as the president and CEO of three successful technology companies and is the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneurs. http://www.prosperityandprofits.com- http://www.dropshipwholesale.net- http://www.30dayblueprint.com
Source: Article Directory
You Need A Spyware Remover!
If you use the internet, “There is over 90% chance your computer is infected with spyware” - Source CNN.Just think about it. You probably have a t least one, if not more computers in your home. Most computers today have internet access. And if you receive email from others and surf to a couple of sites can you be almost completely sure you have some kind of spyware installed in your computer.How dangerous are spyware?Let me give you a short list of things spyware can do,• Spyware can run completely hidden on your computer• It can slow down your computer a lot• It can spy on you and send everything you type to someone else• It can r...
Identity Theft - Don't Blame The Internet
Identity theft – also known as ID theft, identity fraud and ID fraud – describes a type of fraud where a criminal adopts someone else’s identity in order to profit illegally. It is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud in many developed countries.In the UK identity theft is increasing at the rate of 500% each year and, according to Which Magazine, 25% of the population have either suffered from identity theft or know someone who has.In the USA, a report issued by the Better Business Bureau revealed that, in 2004, over 9 million Americans became victims of identity theft with the total sum defrauded being estimated at $52.6 billion.With figures like this, it’s no surprise th...
Keeping Your Pc Healthy At Little Or No Cost
Protect Your PC Having problems with your pc?Do your kids, family or friends fill it with all the stuff they find on the internet?Your computer, just like your car, needs to be serviced regularly to keep it running efficiently. You wouldn't fill your car up with petrol from an old rusty can with a layer of dirty water on the bottom, so you shouldn't allow your pc to be treated that way either. Any pc connected to the internet is a target for viruses, spyware, adware and trojan horses. You need to protect and clean your pc of these nasties which slow down your costly computer.We will show you how to do at little or no cost in this free report.Before we start here is our disclaimer:- we take no responsibility for any harm YOU may do to your computer with this information. Use it at your o...
|
 |
|
|
Are Opt-in Email Lists Still Valuable In This Spam Age?
One of the things that the introduction of blogs has done is to cause an exodus of sorts from email newsletters or ezines to online publishers simply publishing the information... |  |
| Seecrets On Website Promotion: Search Engine Wars – A Different Perspective
[This article may be freely reprinted providing it is published in its entirety, including the author’s bio and activating the link to the URL below.]As at May 29, 2005, Google last traded price was $266 – an increase over its opening price of $100 on August 19, 2004. It is easy to be caught up by the outburst of irrational exuberance over this spectacular performance. Instead, this article tries to present a contrarian’s view The objective of all search engine providers is epitomized by the ideal search often portrayed in the popular television and movie series “Star Trek”. When the captain issues a request for all information on a Klingon spaceship, the search engine intuitively understands that he wants mil... | |
| Take Back Control Of Your Inbox. Eliminate Annoying And Potentially Harmful E-mails
Are you tired of spam stealing your time, your money, your bandwidth and your hard disc space? The time you devote each day to sort and delete spam from your inbox could be put to much better use. In the European Union alone, the working hours employees a... | |
| Hackers And Hoaxes
By Trina L.C. SchillerEveryone who has an ISP, understands, or at least knows about how hackers use viruses, Trojans and other web nasties, to infect and mess up your computer. No headline news there. (Unfortunately, we still don't understand why they do it, or at least I don't.) But hackers don't have to write malicious code or hijack your browser to do some serious damage to your system. Oh no... A well written email with no attachments, can do the trick. They only have to start a rumor. Hackers can easily manipulate you into trashing your own computer. All they have to do is begin a hoax. What do I mean by that? Let me explain.Have you ever gotten emails from people you know that say something like: Scan your hard drive for such and such a file! If you find i... | |
| How To Tap The Profit-producing Power Of Pay-per-click Search Engines To Drive Qualified Traffic To Your Website...
By ©Thom Reece 2004 All Rights ReservedI have been a strong advocate and user of PPC's (pay-per-click search engines) for several years now.I have thousands of keywords and phrases on bid at a number of PPC search engines and, as a result of managing and track... | |
| The Ebay Blacklist
eBay can be most likened to an online flea market. But, as with most flea markets, there is always the possibility that questionable hawkers lurk around the corners. Therefore, there must be rules in place to insure that the auctions and transactions formed through eBay are legal. Only then can a market – online or not – flourish. Certain types of items are prohibited or regulated on eBay. eBay reserves the right to terminate auctions that violate its specifications for allowed items on listing. In the case of such, eBay emails the bidder a... | |
|
|