Gone Phishing
No, you have read incorrectly, it is Phishing as opposed to Fishing. I don’t know about anybody else, but I have been hit by a huge amount of scam or fraudulent emails recently.
For those of you not familiar with the term, “Phishing” refers to the practice of sending emails pretending to be from legitimate organisations (typically Banks and Financial organisations) with a view to getting hold of your personal details and security codes. If somebody gets hold of these details then they would have full access to your accounts.
Typically the emails will have a subject line something like;
- Important Security Issue
- Alert from <Bank Name>
- Urgent (1) Security Code
- Your <Bank Name> Code Card is about to expire
- Your <Bank Name> Internet Banking access has been locked
- Your Internet Banking Access Is about to expire.
- Important Message: Confirm Your<Bank Name> Security Upgrade 2009
- Online Banking Alert!
and they will request you to confirm your details and security codes or to click on a link and put your details into a form.
Banks or other financial institutions will NEVER EVER send emails requesting such details. Why would they when they already have them! If for any reason an organisations password database was compromised in any way then they would disable all logins and force their customers to contact them and only then would they reissue new security codes.
Here are some useful links on the subject from Irish banks;
I see the phishers are at it again, trying to get your AIB Banking Online password. If you get an email with “AIB Internet Banking Online Alert.” in the subject, DELETE IT, IT IS A SCAM.
For more info on Phishing Security Attacks, check out http://blog.glasgorman.com/2009/11/security-alert-gone-phishing/
Feb 102010
As some of you may be aware yesterday was Safer Internet Day 2010. If you need some practical information on how to keep yourself and your children safe on the Internet why not check out Insafe the European network of Awareness Centres promoting safe, responsible use of the Internet and mobile devices to young people.
Feb 062010
If you get an email
from: A I B Internet Banking <confirm@alliedirish.ie>
subject: IMPORTANT: Your are required to confirm your email address
DO NOT REPLY, IT IS A SCAM (PHISHING ATTACK) TRYING TO ET HOLD OF YOUR INTERNET BANKING LOGIN DETAILS. BANKS NEVER SEND UNSOLICITED EMAILS.
Did you know that a study, by a security firm (Trusteer), showed that 73% of people use the same Username and Password across all systems, Online Banking, Online Credit Card Syetems, Facebook, Twitter, Bebo etc. That means that if somebody gets hold of your Username and Password on one system, then they potentially have access to all systems.
Now I know a lot of you are saying “Yeah, we know we shouldn’t use the same password for everything, but it’s a nightmare to remember them all and it’s very unlikely that I would be targeted by hackers.” Well it has happened to thousands of Twitter users. Twitter reset the passwords of thousands of users when their security people noticed unusual activity on the accounts. When they investigated further they discovered that the relevant people also used Torrent file sharing sites, where their usernames and passwords were harvested and used on the major Social Networking sites.
Leading security firms have also recorded a 70% increase in attacks on Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter and the rate of these type of attacks is likely to grow significantly over the coming year. You Have Been Warned!
There is an easy solution. I use a simple piece of Password Management Software which is installed on my PC and also synchronises with the same software on my Nokia phone. This means that I can always have my unique passwords stored securely and available to me at all times.
When it comes to Online Security, a little bit of Common Sense and small bit of effort could save you a lot of hassle later.
File-sharing scam targets Twitter
Twitter has identified a scheme that uses compromised file-sharing sites to steal the log on information of users.
Jan 272010
If you get an email from AIB Internet Banking with a subject of IMPORTANT: Your are required to confirm your email address, then DO NOT REPLY IT IS A PHISHING ATTACK trying to get hold of your password.
For more info on Phishing and Security attacks check out http://blog.glasgorman.com/2009/11/security-alert-gone-phishing/?preview=true&preview_id=21&preview_nonce=0f82c23354
Jan 072010
If you get an email from SupportAdwords (adwords-noreply@gmail.com) with the body listed below, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK, it is a Phishing attack trying to steal your AdWords login details.
--------------------------------------------- This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message. Message id:066927211210811 --------------------------------------------- Hello dear advertiser, You have a new text message from AdWords Alerts Team Please use the link below to login: http://www.aldowrbsz.com/Selects/Login/static/index.html?ref=63465939787 Grow your business with us Yours truly , ©2009 Google AdWords --------------------------------------------- This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message. Message id:665342364644992 ---------------------------------------------
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