| Phishing
Scams
These are probably the smartest scams on the net because they make even
the most intelligent people believe they are legitimate. Almost 950 phishing
web sites were reported to the Anti-Phishing Working Group in the US in
January 2005. Phishers cost US consumers USD$1.2 billion in 2003, according
to Gartner*.
How it works:
You receive an e-mail which you believe is from your bank. The e-mail
is complete with the bank's logo and working web links and cleverly makes
you log in and verify your account information. In some cases, the phishers
lead you to the bank's website and then pop up a window asking for your
personal information. This information would then be sold to criminals,
who would drain your account in hours.
*Gartner is a research agency providing industry reports on the new economy.
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