Phishing

Phishing is the illegal practice of sending out e-mail messages (spam) that appear to come from a financial institution and which seek to trick people into handing over account login information.

Phishing attacks begin with spammed emails that direct people to another website that looks like that of the bank or financial institution the email purports to have come from. When the user responds, the hackers pass this information back to the bank but they now know how to mimic the real user and can then use this information to trick the bank by using a users real login and password to gain access to an account. Anyone handing over details by logging into the phishing attack site will find their real accounts rapidly emptied.

Phishing is enabled by emails inherent weaknesses and ability to send anonymously.

Blogs dealing with phising are commonly published by banks and financial services who have to combat phishing problems daily. The most secret security and protection techniques are not posted to blogs.

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Original Technorati articles tagged “Phishing”

• in Blogging
  Blog Focus On The Twitter Phishing Scam
  Maybe this Blog Focus should have included the words “yet another” as in yet another Twitter phishing scam?
  by ebrage / on Oct 14, 2009

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Phishing”

• Cisco says social network, banking scams on rise

  
  Anti spam and general email security in a business environment — Authority: 420
  In 2010, spam volume is expected to rise 30 to 40 percent worldwide over 2009 levels. Money and large sucker pools attracted increased  attention by Black Hats this year and will continue to do so in the next, according to Cisco Systems’ 2009 Annual Security Report released this week by the company. When the ...
  10 hours ago

• Cisco says social network, banking scams on rise

  
  New Web 2.0 Magazine — Authority: 156
  Banks and social networks will continue to be cracker magnets in 2010.
  11 hours ago

• TSA Breach is a Nightmare for Holiday Travel

  
  Information Security Resources — Authority: 518
  Laura Wilson, JD, CISA , Corporate Liability Editor This week’s revelation that the Transportation Safety Administration exposed its rules for airport security screening online is outrageous. As holiday travel ramps up, the possibilities and repercussions are horrifying. Coupled with the huge ...
  18 hours ago

• cPanel Phishing Scam

  
  All About Computers — Authority: 116
  The information contained in the articles below is of HIGH importance. Read them now: Phishing Scam Initates cPanel CyberCrime and Doing Time The time you take to do the recommended actions, if you have been affected, the sooner your website will become secure again.
  1 day ago

• The sophistication of cybercrime

  
  David Kirkpatrick — Authority: 438
  It’s not about DDoS, phishing and Nigerian 419 scams any more. Now the main targets for these criminals are your data and social networking sites . From the link: What do phishing, instant messaging malware, DDoS attacks and 419 scams have in common? According to Cisco Systems, they’re all has-been cybercrimes ...
  1 day ago

• How To Avoid Getting Ripped Off This Christmas

  
  SayEducate — Authority: 126
  “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men” was the angelic declaration made two thousand years ago when Jesus was born. Unfortunately, not enough people have heeded that message of reconciliation between God and man, choosing to perpetuate one scam or another, more so during the Christmas season. At least it seems ...
  1 day ago

• Patch Tuesday: Microsoft plugs IE drive-by download security holes

  
  Zero Day — Authority: 585
  The most serious issues affect the companys Internet Explorer browser, including the newest IE 8 on Windows 7.
  2 days ago

• Russian Cybercrook Gets 18 Months for IRS E-Filing Scam

  
  Threat Level — Authority: 753
  A Russian man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday for a phishing attack that diverted $100,000 in U.S. tax refunds to bank accounts under his control. Maxim Maltsev, 24, of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, ran the caper while he was living in the sunnier climes of San Diego in 2006, according to court ...
  2 days ago

• Recent Study Shows Phishing on Facebook has Increased

  
  Community 2.0 — Authority: 121
  A recent study conducted by the internet security company Sophos has some shocking details as highlighted by this post on ReadWriteWeb. In the study Sophos created fake accounts to see how the majority of people acted towards friend requests and how much information is made publicly available by its users. Here are ...
  2 days ago

• FIFA World Cup Tickets Scams Available Now

  
  McAfee Avert Labs — Authority: 507
  We recently alerted our readers to spam campaigns using the H1N1 vaccination program to prompt recipients to open the mail. And we have frequently mentioned that crooks love to take advantage of news, disasters, and other events. Now that the final draw for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa next year has taken ...
  2 days ago

• Federal Reserve Bank Spam Scam

  
  Bill Mullins' Weblog - Tech Thoughts — Authority: 138
  No, I’m not referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve as a scam, although there are more than a few, it seems, who think just that. Instead, I’m referring to the latest cybercriminal phishing scam which uses a phony “warning”, purportedly from the Federal Reserve Bank, which warns against – are you ready for ...
  2 days ago

• Social Network and Banking Scams Are on the Rise, Says Cisco (PC World)

  
  Need Firewall — Authority: 149
  PC World - What do phishing, instant messaging malware, DDoS attacks and 419 scams have in common? Read the rest here: (PC World)"> (PC World)">Social Network and Banking Scams Are on the Rise, Says Cisco (PC World)
  2 days ago

• Yahoo Hosting Customers’ Threatened by Attempts to Hijack Websites

  
  The Web Hosting News — Authority: 431
  ( The Hosting News ) – NEW YORK– The customer protection company for online businesses, Trusteer , today issued a security advisory that warns the customers of website hosting companies, including yahoo.com, against a new phishing attack aimed at stealing their content management system log-in credentials. ...
  2 days ago

• Yahoo Hosting Customers’ Threatened by Attempts to Hijack Websites

  
  Web Hosting Blog — Authority: 152
  (The Hosting News) – NEW YORK– The customer protection company for online businesses, Trusteer, today issued a security advisory that warns the customers of website hosting companies, including yahoo.com, against a new phishing attack aimed at stealing their content management system log-in credentials. The ...
  2 days ago

• China warns of Skype phishing attack (TechWorld)

  
  Adam Dicker | Domain Expert — Authority: 160
  A rare warning from China’s cyberthreat response group China’s cyberthreat response group has warned local Skype users about phishing scams being carried out through the chat program, in a show of ongoing efforts to counter phishing in the country. Originally posted here: China warns of Skype phishing attack ...
  2 days ago

• China warns of Skype phishing attack (TechWorld)

  
  Adam Dicker | Domain Expert — Authority: 160
  A rare warning from China’s cyberthreat response group China’s cyberthreat response group has warned local Skype users about phishing scams being carried out through the chat program, in a show of ongoing efforts to counter phishing in the country. Read the original: China warns of Skype phishing attack ...
  2 days ago

• Ruggedised botnets pushing out even more spam

  
  Spamzy — Authority: 107
  Future rogue ISP takedowns unlikely to bring reliefCybercrooks have adapted to the takedown of rogue ISPs by building more resilient botnets.…Offloading malware protection to the cloudContinued here: Ruggedised botnets pushing out even more spam a2a_linkname="Ruggedised botnets pushing out even more ...
  2 days ago

• Cyber Liability Insurance Mitigates Exposure

  
  Information Security Resources — Authority: 518
  By Laton McCartney , Editor at CIOZone Four or five years ago, insurance carriers selling cyber-liability insurance had difficulty giving the product away. “CIOs weren’t interested,” Drew Bartkiewicz, vice president of cyber and new media risk at The Hartford ( HIG ), tells CIOZone. “They’d ...
  2 days ago

• Vietnam Tops November Spam Report

  
  Information Security Resources — Authority: 518
  By Simon Heron , CISSP Internet Security Analyst Today’s news that a New Zealand national has been ordered to pay $15.5 million US dollars in fines due to his participation in an international spam network , highlights the seriousness with which authorities are starting to take malware production. But it ...
  2 days ago

• Hosting services under attack

  
  Top-Dollar-Website.com — Authority: 116
  Shaun Nichols in San Francisco, V3.co.uk , Tuesday 8 December 2009 at 02:16:00 Phishing attack aims for site credentials A new phishing attack is targeting webmasters in an attempt to gain access to site credentials. According to security firm Trusteer, the attack targets cPanel, a popular management tool for web ...
  2 days ago

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