About Phishing

Phishing is the fastest growing threat on the internet. We aim to educate internet users about phishing and how to spot phishing attempts, preventing people from falling victim.

Phishing

Phishing is a scam where fraudsters pose as a company with which a consumer has an existing relationship like a bank, online auction site, or Internet Service Provider and send an email requesting billing or financial information to avoid "termination" of the user's account. The email will often direct the recipient to a website that looks nearly identical to the actual company's website. Phishing attacks use these 'spoofed' e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool recipients into gathering personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords or other sensitive information. Phishers thereafter use this obtained information to make fraudulent purchases, obtain credit or open other accounts in the victim's name.

Pharming

Pharming uses the same kind of spoofed sites, but uses malware or spyware to redirect users from real websites to the fraudulent sites (typically DNS hijacking). By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers are able to convince recipients to respond to them.

Identity Theft

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, identity theft is the fastest growing crime. Criminals are stealing information by intercepting emails, by launching phishing attacks, by hacking into computers, by using telephone and email scams, and by leveraging weaknesses in online shopping and banking sites. In fact, the US Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than 20% of all identity theft cases involve telecommunications and the Internet, a number that experts predict will grow over the course of the next year.