Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Prevent Password Theft by Recognizing Phishing Attempts
Monday, March 14, 2011 by Michael Lewis
Despite the low success rate, phishing attacks continue to be an
ongoing problem in digital communication. Last week, several of
Switchfast's clients received a sophisticated attempt to trick
users into compromising their network password. You can view an
image of this below.
Even though there is a low sucess rate, phishing remains a
common.
eWeek reports that:
"Each phishing attack compromises a
very small number of customers (0.000564 percent), but due to the
large number of phishing attacks, the aggregated number is
significant. Overall, 0.47 percent of the banks' customers fall
victim to phishing attacks each year, translating to between $2.4
million and $9.4 million in annual losses per million online
banking customers."
Email spam and phishing filters are always improving, but so are
the crooks that are out to steal your password.
How can you protect yourself from phishing?
Many email services offer built-in filter protection. The most
recent versions of web browsers all have anti-phishing safeguards.
So if you are still using IE6, an older version, you might not be
protected. The many major anti-virus and firewall software packages
also have anti-phishing capabilities.
But it always pays to be vigilant. Filters are not perfect, and
the hackers are always innovating. Keep an eye out for the
following red flags: Many hoax emails will have a generic greeting.
If you do not see a first and last name, be suspicious.
Additionally, pay attention to the domain sending the e-mail and
the domain the e-mail is actually sending you to.
Finally, if you do receive a hoax email, flag it in your email
software, inform your employer or IT manager, and delete the
email.
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