Phishing
What is Phishing?
Phishing is the act of sending an email to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The email directs the user to visit a website where they are asked to update personal information such as password, national insurance number and bank account details. The email may further suggest that the information is necessary to prevent the account from being suspended.
With this information the fraudster can do a number of things that include stealing the identity of the person who provided the information in the first place, to undertaking attacks on that person’s bank account.
The email is sent to a large group of people, seeking out account users. The scam relies on the contents of the email request being adhered to by the account users and the details provided.
What do you do if you receive an email from what you think is your bank?
- A bank or other financial group will not send emails to you asking you for details like PIN numbers, passwords or other personal data, no matter how genuine the email looks.
- Do not be tempted to fill out any pages and respond. If you think the email is not genuine, forward it on to the bank it claims to come from.
