Understanding Phishing, Pharming, Spam, and Scams

This week in computer security we learned about different types of ways criminals use to obtain your information. Methods used are phishing, pharming, and spam.

• Phishing is when fraudulent emails that appear to be from a legitimate source are sent in an effort to obtain sensitive information from a user.
• Pharming occurs when a fake website is set up that appears identical to a real website, but instead carriers malicious software that could be used to deliver viruses, capture every keystroke you type, or install software that will allow someone else to have remote access and control over your computer. Pharming effectively eliminates the need for "bait" emails and is therefore potentially more dangerous than "normal" phishing scams and can cast a wider "net" in which to snare victims. Even phishing-savvy web users could fall victim to a pharming scam without realizing it.
•  Spam is the emails you get offering enhancement drugs, herbal remedies and software among other things.

Right now in my spam inbox I have ten messages. This is only a weeks worth of spam so ten is not so bad compared to the hundreds my boyfriend gets weekly. Thankfully yahoo has a great spam blocker and I unsubscribe from any emails from stores who offer me so called "savings" and I delete any message from unfamiliar web addresses. One of the spam emails sent to me claims in the subject line to be from COMPENSATION 2010. Ironically they are a company that claims to have gotten scam victims 2.5 million dollars for phishing attacks that have resulted in identity fraud. Although I find internet crime despicable the way high tech criminals prey on unsuspecting people any one would have to admit that some of these schemes are pretty clever. For instance in 2010 when the census was conducted scammers posed as census workers to collect data. Scammers tricked people into giving out their banking and other personal information.

The best thing to do to try to reduce these crimes from happening is if and when you do receive a suspicious email DELETE IT. Also you can forward the email to spam@uce.gov or www.ftc.gov/bcp/con-line/edcams/spam/report.html then DELETE IT. Don't give out your personal information online unless it is a trusted site that has https and a padlock icon in the address bar. And last but not least just use common sense. How plausible is it that you live in New York or any where in the U.S. for that matter yet somehow you one 500,000,000 in the Camen Islands? Or that someone is going to pay you money to cash a million dollar check? The odds are not that high.