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Beware of Phishing Email!

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On this page we will present some of our favorite tips and techniques for using Windows, the Internet, and various applications. These tips will be updated approximately once a month. Please visit this page often to find new ways to enjoy the experience of using your personal computer and to steer clear of trouble!

What is "Phishing"

Phishing is an attempt by a malicious person or organization to make you reveal personal or financial information, usually by sending you an email message that asks you to go to a website for the purpose of updating or verifying account information or something similar. The email may look quite legitimate by including logos or links to official looking websites, and may threaten consequences if you do not take the action directed. Here is an example of a phishing email recently received by Bill Weems, the owner of Orchid Technical Services:

Dear Bank of America Direct User:
Our records indicate that a new digital certificate has been issued to your Bank of America Direct user ID.

Digital certificates are computer-based records issued to individual user IDs that allow Bank of America Direct to validate your identity and protect your information from unauthorized access.
In order to access Bank of America Direct, you must use a valid digital certificate.

Installation Instructions
To install your newly-granted digital certificate, please access the Digital Certificate Pick-Up site at:

http://direct-certs.bankofamerica.com/direct/certpickup.asp?
session=7702664449842513036778586136309823580758046035

Please have your Bank of America Direct login information readily available when completing this process. Should you have any questions regarding this process, please consult your Company Administrator or contact your regional customer support center for further assistance.

Sincerely,
Bank of America Direct Technical Care Center

NOTE: This is an automatically generated communication.

In this case, Bill immediately knew the email was fake since he does not even have a Bank of America account. But if this same phishing attempt went out to thousands of email recipients, it is very likely that some of them do have Bank of America accounts, and if they had taken the bait and entered their Bank of America Direct User ID's and passwords in response to this message, the message senders would have them and could easily clean out their bank accounts in a matter of minutes. Identity theft is another possible consequence of responding to phishing attempt.

Here are some tips on how to recognize a phishing attempt:

• Unprofessional appearance for the email. For example, it is unlikely that Bank of
  America would include an unformatted hyperlink such as the one in the example.
• A hyperlink that, despite appearances, goes to a illegitimate website. If you hover
  your mouse pointer over a hyperlink, your email system will usually tell the actual
  website that clicking will take you to. In the example, it was not the site given in
  the email.
• Spelling or grammatical errors or degrading language.
• Requests to enter personal information such as user ID's, passwords, social security
   numbers, etc. Legitimate companies would never ask for such information by email.
• Threats of consequences such as closing or preventing access to an account if the
   requested action is not taken.

If you receive an email that you recognize as a fraudulent phishing attempt, you should do nothing but immediately delete the message. If you are not sure, and it looks like the message applies to you, you should check with the company's customer service office.

Fortunately, most email providers and email client software products now are able to recognize phishing emails and make sure they do not get through, or at least warn you that they may be fraudulent. However, it remains the responsibility of the user to be ever vigilant and careful.

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