Every day identity thieves and hackers are figuring out new was to steal the sensitive information and identities of their victims. New and unusual ways are popping up all the time and this makes citizens more weary of the way they conduct business every day. Of all the ways that data and identity thieves have been stealing information, a new way has emerged and is becoming more popular among these outlaws.

This new style of cultivating information is called “phishing”. Phishing holds a variety of meanings and is used in many different situations by the dishonest in order to pry away your personal data. Most commonly, phishing is the spamming of your inbox, by bombarding it with hundreds of e-mails that hold keywords and links that will slip by your spam filter. This in turn exploits the very make-up of a spam filter, which is supposed to click on the links that appear in your e-mails before you open them in order to ensure the integrity of the e-mail message you are about to open. By doing this you can potentially visit harmful and unlawful sites from your home computer without ever knowing it. Read the rest of this entry »

Like any other normal day, you log in to your e-mail account to browse the inbox for sorting the new mails, and then you pinpoint a mail claiming to be from you bank. It highlights, that they are internally enhancing their security networks, and for that purpose you are required to verify you personal account info.  Further, an official link is listed to put in your details. You successfully co-operate with their requirements, and the following day you figure out you were scammed being a victim of identity theft!

Be cautious

Not everything is what it looks like. The website, where the mail directed you was designed by a potential hacker rather than being from the bank department. This just a common example of one of the “phishing” scams. As you enter all the personal information the website asks for, all details are transferred in the hands of people, who will assure you are their next victim of identity theft. They will use your personal information for opening new loans or credit cards, under your individual identity. Perhaps, after some months when you drop by your lender to apply for a loan and when you are refused, you will for the very first time realize that your credit rating had been perished by the identity thieves. Read the rest of this entry »

The advent of internet has revolutionized the life of a common person. It is a perfect source of information. Anyone can get information about anything without going through any hassle. Along with getting information about different things, it is used as an outstanding mode of communication. That is when people exchange information via emails. However, it is crucial to mention that there are some strings attached to this amazing source of information and communication.

One of the biggest issues associated with internet is identity theft

One of the biggest issues associated with internet is identity theft, which is a serious crime. Although different hackers utilize different techniques to access sensitive information but emails have always been a favorite tool for them. Email spamming, for instance, is a popular form of hacking. This is the process where hackers send loads and loads of emails from different addresses. When people open these emails, they get infected as these mail come with a virus. Read the rest of this entry »

Phishing scams can be in the form of fraudulent emails which a person receives in his or her inbox from sources which seem to be legitimate. The perpetrators send such messages with the sender appearing to be normal legitimate enterprises such your email service provider or your bank. The messages usually give links to their spoofed or fake websites or in other cases seek personal information such as credit card numbers, account details, passwords e.t.c.  Once you submit your personal information, the perpetrators will use it to perform identity theft.

The crooks involved in this kind of theft create their emails to look as official as possible to avoid any suspicions. You may receive an email from your bank stating that a check you wrote bounced, while you are sure you haven’t written any checks as of late. The crooks offer website links and phone numbers which you are advised to call in order to solve the problem.  This is an example of a phishing scheme which seeks to get personal information from you. Such email messages are sent to millions of people who upon replying to them or filling in some of the forms that come in them, fall victim to identity theft. Read the rest of this entry »

Many folks have been hit by a type of online scam that asks for money in exchange for a particular service. In return, they are promised to be paid large sums of money; the most popular of these are Nigerian scams.

One of the most familiar Nigerian scams occurs when an e-mail is send to you offering a lot of money in exchange for helping another person. These emails come with different offers but the purpose is the same.  For example, you can receive an email asking you to help somebody to recover some money that has been trapped in a foreign country and if you do, you are promised to be rewarded. This return never comes.

Many people would dismiss such emails at first thinking that no one would ever fall for such lies. As time goes by the offenders learn new tricks and the scams are becoming harder and harder to detect. Many of these scams no longer use the familiar trademark details like an overseas bank, the barrister, or even the famous wire payment. In Nigerian scams there are several variations of the traditional scams but most Nigerians are more conversant with what is going on. Read the rest of this entry »