Mark's Notebook

Companies Forced to Fight Phishing

Washington Post

By Brian Krebs

Phishers now focus almost exclusively on banks and online shopping sites. During the past 10 months, nearly 60 percent of their attacks targeted Citibank or US Bank, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group. EarthLink and America Online are the targets for about 3 percent of the scams.

Phishers profit by stealing personal financial information and teaming up with international criminal syndicates that include computer hackers, virus writers and identity thieves. Working together, they fence the stolen data and cover their tracks by routing their e-mails and Web sites through multiple Internet hosts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61916-2004Nov19.html

Related stories:

A Brief History of Phishing

Before mid-2003, most phishing scams arrived in text-heavy e-mails. They were rife with spelling errors and poor grammar that tipped recipients off. But phishers are honing their writing and design skills, creating messages that are more difficult to discern as forgeries. Here is a brief timeline of the development of phishing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59350-2004Nov18.html

How to Fend off Phishing

The best way to avoid becoming a phishing victim is to remember that real companies almost never send e-mail asking you to submit personal data. The message might include fancy graphics, trademark symbols and an authentic-looking e-mail address in the "from" line, but all of that can be easily faked. Here are some easy ways to tell.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59383-2004Nov18.html

Phishing Schemes Scar Victims

An estimated 1.8 million Americans gave out personal information in phishing scams in the last year. It is becoming one of the most prevalent means of identity theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59349-2004Nov18.html

Articles

Last updated Tuesday 13 May 2008