January 8,2009
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Don't Get Trapped in the Phish Net, Pt.4 –
– Suspicious techniques and what to do (or not).How they do it:
- On-line Hotlinks: Many times these are even invisible to the victim. But, usually, the user is confronted with a curious temptation to see ‘what's behind the door', so they click a button, picture or catch phrase. Surprise, someone needs your credit card info to either give you some thing (trial offer) of to sell you a great deal. What used to be termed as ‘Easter Eggs' can hide in some unused portion of the screen. They were called ‘Easter Eggs' going back to the days when people weren't so malicious. The ‘egg' would launch (hatch) some neat little entertainment gift, which would seem to pop out from ‘nowhere' when a tiny portion of open screen just happened to be clicked. But now, a curious window will open and will lure the user to take some action that requires a credit card.
- Email you: The general rule is that nobody should ever be sending you e-mail requesting sensitive credit card or bank information. Not banks, not credit card lenders nor even your mortgage company. Especially personal identifiers such as PIN numbers, expiration date, billing info, etc. If this should ever happen, notify your legitimate bank or lender immediately. The e-mail will not be legitimate and has probably already been broadcast to thousands of other innocent victims.
- "Call this number...": Rarely will a cowardly thieves expose themselves this much. But, there are some stupid and arrogant thieves that will survive just long enough to hurt some good people. There are some larger quasi-legitimate business that will step over the line until caught. CompuCredit Corp and Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC were recently partners in many such credit card scams, just to name a few. After being smacked around by the FTC to the tune of $3.7 million in damages and another $2.4 million in penalties, they may have calmed down some. Always remember, you can call the FTC for answers any time at: 1-877-FTC-HELP.
- They call you: Most of us get calls every day asking for money. If you have a mind, either tell these people you'll call them back or else suggest they send you the materials in the mail. Do not surrender any credit card information to anyone that you didn't call first.