Phishers hide identity to reel in more victims

FREDERICK, Md. (7/14/04)--Phishers continue to reel in victims using spoofed e-mails and fraudulent Web sites as bait. The good news is the number of overall phishing attacks on the financial services sector leveled off in May. The bad news is the number is still high, and phishers are getting more sophisticated with their lures (CardTrak July 2).

More than 95% of the phishing attacks rely on the use of forged "from" addresses to hide their identity and evade spam filters. The company most targeted by phishing attacks in May was Citibank with 370 unique attacks, down from 475 in April, compared with only 34 during January.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group reported that attacks against U.S. Bank surged 170%.

Phishing attacks use "spoofed" or hijacked e-mails and fraudulent Web sites to fool recipients into divulging personally identifying information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or account numbers for the purpose of committing identity theft.

By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers, Internet service providers, and credit card companies, phishers are able to convince up to 5% of recipients to respond to them.

For more information, read "Scam and Spam: What a Tangled Web They Leave" and "Simple Steps Enhance Computer Privacy, Security" in the Home & Family Finance Resource Center money savvy section.

  Resource Links
Home & Family Finance Resource Center
Statement Stuffer: ID Theft: How to Prevent It and How to Get Over It


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