EMAIL PHISHING AND ATTACKS
Phishing was a word in the beginning used to portray email attacks that were used to rob your online banking username and security password. On the other hand, the term has evolved and now refers to almost any email-based attack. Phishing uses social engineering, a method where cyber attackers try to fool you into performing an action. These attacks often start with a cyber unlawful person sending you a mail faking to be from someone or an identity you know or have faith in him, such as a friend/colleague, your bank or your favorite online website. These emails then tempt you into taking a step, such as clicking on a link/word opening an attachment or replying to a message. Cyber criminal’s technique these mails to look persuasive, sending them out to literally billions of people around the globe. The criminal’s don’t specifically target a person or have a mindset, nor do they know precisely who will fall victim of their attacks. They simply know the more emails they send, the more public they may be able to trick. Phishing attacks works in four ways:
• Harvesting Information: The cyber attacker’s aim is to prey you into clicking on a link/word and taking you to a website/blog that asks for your login and security password, or even your credit and debit card or ATM number. These websites look legitimate and lawful, with exactly the same pattern with originality, imagery and feel of your online bank, but they are frivolous websites designed by the cyber invader to steal your data.
• Infecting your computer system with malicious links: Once again, the cyber invader’s goal on you is to click on a link/word so that you fall a victim of their attack. However, instead of harvesting your information, their...
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• Just because you got n mail from your friend, colleague does not mean they have sent it. Your friend’s computer may have been infected with or their account may have been compromised with security and loosing password and malware is sending the mail to all of your friend’s contacts and lists. If you get a suspicious e-mail from a genuine friend, call them to verify that they sent it. Always use a contact number that you already know or can independently confirm, not the one that was included in the message for you.
If after reading an mail you are of opinion it is a phishing attack or scam might take place, simply delete the mail. Ultimately, using mail safely and secure is all about common sense. If something seems and is visible of suspicious or too good to be true, it is most likely an attack and trap for you. Simply delete the mail.
Identity theft is a term used for describing criminal that uses individual’s identity without consent. A common crime of identity theft would be identity fraud. Many of the crimes are regularly connected with money-related issues (Reyns, 2013). With technology being commonly used nowadays we are getting more dependent on it for business, financial, medical, and other forms. As a result this became a target for identity thieves as well. The Internet provides us information and accessibility, but information being stored on the Internet eas...
According to the definition by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) (2006), a scam is a misleading or deceptive business practice where a person receives an unsolicited or uninvited contact (for example: email, letter, phone or some sort of advertisement) and false promises. Examples of scams include bogus lotteries, a supposed inheritance from a distant foreign relative on their death bed, any type of foreign money making scheme, or loan services. For years now there has even been an email being sent to everyone from the FBI pertaining to money that has been allocated to you. The email is a complete scam and does not come from the FBI. The FBI has a whole department dedicated in fighting White Collar Crime. Deception goes hand in hand with scams. Throughout a scam the illicit actor is trying to get another person to buy into their idea and to do so they have to
Treat any emails with respect & confidentiality i.e. do not share with anyone that should. Never walk away from your computer so that someone else can read your emails or even worse be in a position where someone could send an email on your behalf.
Privacy Matters. (n.d.). Phishing and Identity Theft. Retrieved Febrauary 22, 2011, from Privacy Matters: http://www.privacymatters.com/identity-theft-information/phishing.aspx
The Internet plays the biggest role in identity theft. On the Internet, a thief can hide from detection while stealing peoples’ identities from their homes, being able to steal peoples’ information one by one “then disappearing into another identity,” (Vacca 60). Internet fraud consists of two phases. The first being spoofing where a fake site is set up made to look like the real thing. Once that is completed the second phase, phishing, begins. This usually starts with an email that uses the
A common way that people steal information is through phishing emails. The thieves send a large number of emails to people, saying that they are their bank, or some other financial company. It says that you need to click on the link, then login. When you do, the thieves would have all the information they need to be able to use your account. Another type of phishing emails is someone telling you that you have been scammed, and that the only way to take care of it is by telling them your financial information, saying that they will need it. This, of course, will not help you in any way, as you were not scammed in the first place, and you told them your financial information, which they can use to take loans, use your money...etc. One last type of common phishing email is more directed towards parents and grandparents. The thief pretends to be their child or grandchild, in vacation, the thieves might know whether they really are in vacation or not from social media, and that they encountered a problem, and are in need of money, fast. People can’t really stop themselves from sending money as their children are very important to them. One common way that hackers steal information is one that people often forget. Hackers guessing password on your phone is one way they take information. That is why having weak passwords, such as “1234” or your
The ability to conduct warfare through technological methods has increased information security awareness and the need to protect an entities infrastructure. Subsequently, cyber warfare produces increased risk to security practitioners that employ technology and other methods to mitigate risks to information and the various systems that hold or transmit data. A significant risk to information lies in the conduct of electronic commerce, hereinafter called e-commerce. E-commerce is the purchasing or selling of goods and/or services through the internet or other electronic means (Liu, Chen, Huang, & Yang, 2013). In this article, the researcher will discuss cyber warfare risks, present an evaluation on established security measures, identify potential victims of identity theft, and present an examina...
 Phishing ultimately leads to identity theft, by using a fraudulent e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate business. These authentic-looking messages are designed to fool recipients into divulging personal data such as account numbers and passwords, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers. (Russel, K. 2004). The information gained from can be used to make purchases of exorbitant amounts, withdrawals from accounts, which leads to the loss of funds from banks and different
Onifade, O.F.W. and Adebayo, K. J.( 2011).Phishing and Identity Thefts on the Internet.Journal of Information Technology Impact Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 133-144, 2011
Every day, citizens are constantly losing money and being victimized due to these fraudulent activities. Cyber crime, including fraud, identity theft, stalking, and hacking, is a growing problem that can be prevented by taking the proper precautions. The biggest cases of cyber crimes are cases of fraud. Online fraud comes in many forms. It ranges from viruses that attack computers with the goal of retrieving personal information, to email schemes that lure victims into wiring money to fraudulent sources” (What is “online fraud”).
The Internet is a connection of computers across the world through a network. Its origin dates back to the 1960s when the U.S Military used it for research, but it became more available to the public from the late 1980s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and browsers began appearing in the early 1990s. Over the last 24 years, the Internet has enabled people to shop, play, do research, communicate and conduct business online. It has also become cheaper and faster in performing different tasks. As much as the Internet has done immeasurable good to society, it has also dominated people’s lives and brought with it an array of cybercrimes. According to Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember (Carr, 2010). He debates on whether the Internet has done more harm than good. People use the Internet daily to exchange accurate information and constantly personal data such as credit cards, passwords and Social Security numbers are travelling through the network from one computer to another. With security measures put in place on the Internet, personal information remains confidential. But unfortunately, criminals have adapted to innovations in technology, and today, more people are increasingly becoming victims of cybercrime. The Internet has had profound effects on the public, both positive and negative. In this paper we will examine how access to personal information has led to an increase in online and offline crimes. The essay will particularly focus on ecommerce and hacking.
One example of bad hackers is what happened worldwide to Target companies. Target was hacked and millions of people’s credit card information was stolen (Riley, 2014). Many people think that the ones that hacked target hacked it because target gave away information, in reality they were as victim as the ones who’s information was stolen (Riley, 2014). Someone installed malware in Target's security and payme...
The Internet is not just a medium for information; it is a tool for communication. Creating a new social sphere and environment, the Internet allows virtually anyone to be a participant. Chat rooms, discussion boards, instant messaging services and e-mail are all mediums that allow individuals to engage in communication. However, although the Internet is a public domain, individuals do not have to honestly represent themselves. Many individuals use false names and identities on the Internet. As a result, detecting authenticity, genuineness, and sincerity may prove to be problematic.
Identity theft and cyberstalking are two exceedingly serious and utterly prevalent crimes that pose a great risk to today's society. "Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the United States. In 2013, someone became a victim of identity fraud every two minutes, totaling 13.1 million people" (Shin). "Almost 1.5 million people in the United States alone suffer from cyberstalking at least once every single year" (Gaille).
Cybercrime is a global issue plaguing the world. The dictionary defines cybercrime as “crime conducted via the Internet or some other computer network”(Merriam-Webster). The definition remains very broad because the word “cyber” is defined as “relating to the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality.” Due to the growing number of people gaining access to the internet, rapid development of technology, and the globalization of the world, more of the world population is becoming susceptible to involvement in cybercrime – whether it be as a victim or a criminal. Cybercrime involves different levels of the world on both the victim and criminal side, from an individual citizen, to small groups, businesses, and the government, to the countries of the world.