Online Fraud, How To Stay Safe

Online fraud can come in many forms. The two most recognized forms of online fraud, with the purpose of stealing your identity is phishing and pharming. I will explain what phishing and pharming is, and then go into different ways in which you can keep yourself safe.

Pharming

Pharming is a hidden attack on your computer by a hacker. The attacker’s main purpose is to redirect website’s traffic to a bogus website. The pharming act can be achieved by either changing the hosts file on an individual’s computer (the victim) or by taking advantage of any vulnerability a company’s DNS (DNS servers responsible for changing Internet names into real IP addresses) server software may have. If the pharmer can change the way traffic flows in an entire section of the Internet they can have a major impact on their victims.

Phishing

Phishing in another method of online fraud, its calling card comes with bait. The phisher uses spam, fake websites and other methods to trick individuals into divulging their personal information, such as credit card accounts and bank accounts. Their aim is: 1) To use the information to steal money from their victims by racking up credit card bills or attempting to drain their bank account; or 2) To sell the information on the black market.

Phishing uses bait within an email. The email will try to get the individual to click on the link. If you click on the link, you may be sent to a bogus site that looks authentic. The phisher’s hope is that the site looks authentic enough so that the victim will relinquish their personal information.

However, today’s phisher has new tools to gather information The crimeware software that they use only needs you to click on the link, at which time, a Trojan or spyware is placed onto your machine, waiting patiently to capture your information when you do go into the legitimate site.

Protecting Yourself from Online Fraud

Common sense methods to protecting you against Phishing.

1. Be aware of the link you are clicking on in an email. Some people think that if they copy and paste the link into the browser they are safe. They are not. As I mentioned above, phishers have become more sophisticated in their attempts to get your data. You click on the link or paste it in the browser you are caught.

2. Use the link you commonly use to contact the company. You may want to notify them of the attempt so they can notify all online customers.

3. Before you click, check out the email structure itself. If there are spelling errors or poor grammar, it is time to send the email to the spam filter.

Methods to Protect You against Pharming:

1. Make sure your operating system is current, including patches. If your operating system is current, you are more able to block most attacks on your system.

2. Your Internet Browser Security should be set to the highest security level.

3. If you enter passwords and user-ids to enter sites, use strong passwords. Strong passwords usually contain 8+ characters with a combination of numbers to letters.

4. Do not use the same password or user name for all your different sites.

5. Use a password management system, such as that offered through Norton Internet Security or Roboform.

6. Change your passwords on a regular basis.

7. Protect your computer with security software.

You can deter online fraud by following these simple tips. However, if you feel that you have a security breached, immediately contact the company that you are doing business with online, and follow their instructions. The company can verify what you may expect, and take actions to protect them and you, as well as, their other customers.