Phishing Emails Scams

Phishing is a fraudulent act to steal someone's private information by deceiving them. Such information includes: email addresses, passwords, Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, PIN numbers etc.

One of the vehicles to distribute phishing scams is e-mail. Criminals use all sorts of ways to lure their victims into following their instructions. They craft an email that will totally fool their victims by impersonating legitimate corporations, governments or even family and friends. Most phishing emails have a sense of urgency or something that is almost too good to be true.

Here are some common examples you will find, based on the technique employed:

Following a malicious link:

This is by far the most common of all the scams. By following a link that appears legitimate, victims are lured to enter sensitive information into a supposedly safe website. In reality, the site is a fake and all the information gathered will be forwarded to the scammers.

Running a malicious file:

Although not as used, malicious attachments still exist. Email clients or webmails are getting better all the time at filtering dangerous attachments, but some files are still able to make it through. The victim is lured to open the attachment and run it. Instead of being what they thought it was, the file will infect their computer and reside in memory so that it can catch sensitive information and relay it to the criminals.

Responding to a dubious Email address:

Last but not least, Nigerian scams also known as advance-fee fraud, can be used to steal private information (although it is not their primary goal). The victim may be lured to send money in advance and give certain confidential data about her (such as bank account number, date of birth, driver's license number etc.)