These communiqués, in the form of emails, are simply the



result of people who have gone “phishing," not to be

confused with the term “gone fishing," a practice no one

seems to object to except maybe the fish. Still these

rogues are after a fish, and the fish my friend is you!

Phishing employs both technical schemes and reliance on

your lack of caution, to gain your personal identity and

financial information data.

The way they hook their victim is through a cloaked link

(the bait) leading their unsuspecting fish, that’s you, to

a counterfeit website carefully designed to trick their

catch (you) into divulging private financial data such as,

credit card numbers, usernames, passwords, social security

numbers, and so forth.

These traps are intermingled with everyday spam, or

whatever passes as spam, littering your inbox. In reality,

ordinary spam is merely bothersome at worst, requiring its

disposal through excessive use of the delete key, yet

phishing can be far more destructive.

These deceptive ploys fraught with harmful intentions are

daily appearing in mail boxes everywhere, arriving from

outside and inside the country highlighting the Internets

lack of policing and our peril.

An email message can be a useful and handy tool, yet it’s

tailor-made for this type of villain. The reminder you

receive can appear as a genuine concern from a business you

are doing commerce with, and have already entrusted your

personal information.

The subject line of these bogus emails reads something

like, “We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your

account," then sets the hook by declaring only “good

intentions" by stating, “To ensure your account is not

compromised, please click the link below and confirm your

identity."

Or, the phony email might assert that, “During our regular

verification of accounts we couldn’t verify your

information." This phrase is calculated to put you into a

panic, then comes the bait, please click here to update and

verify your information." And, if you do, they win!

And yes, I am not too proud to admit a close friend of

mine, in his newbie days, fell prey to this blatant

deception. Come to think of it, his name and description is

curiously the same as mine. Oh well, I know it couldn’t

have been me, as I wouldn’t fall for such a ruse. Then

again!

Following this incident, I have developed a simple rule, I

never respond through any email allegedly from anyone I’m

doing business with, regardless of my lack of suspicion.

Where I feel it’s of proper concern, I go directly through

my browser to the site, enter and check it out.

This advice I offer you like a brother, never react

directly with any message that poses a serious concern and

provides a “convenient" link for you to deposit your

critical information. It could be the most costly mistake

of your life.

While there are sites where you can forward these poison

pills, your only real protection, is you. Don’t rely on any

company, notwithstanding their plausible concerns, for in

the end, you retain the power of the delete button, use it

wisely.

By the bye, phishing is often referred to as “spoofing,"

what a harmless expression. As if, “sure I stole your

identity, cleaned out your bank account, left you with huge

financial losses to overcome, but hey, I was only

spoofing!"