Free Essay

And I Went Phishing...

In: Computers and Technology

Submitted By rebeccak76
Words 675
Pages 3
And I Went Phishing….
By Rebecca Key
01/31/14

SCI 305: Technology and Society
Professor: Pat Gonzalez

My experience with the “phishing” quiz surprised me I scored 90%. I only missed one and to be honest I debated it about it. This was the only one that I really had an issue with. I thought it was phishing but then when it wasn’t asking for any personal information I second guessed myself. I missed the one from Bank of America about the ALERTS, to the account. I said it was legitimate. The give aways were that is was improperly formatted sender, it was addressed dear customer and not the customer’s name, and color coding in not used in formal communication. The main things that helped me identify whether it was legitimate or not was first, the spelling and grammar, several had very poor spelling and incorrect grammar. I am a bit OCD in this area so that is the first thing that jumped out. The second thing that helped identify the “phishing” was the request for personal information. There was one supposedly from the IRS wanting my social security number and my credit card number to have my tax return put on my card. According to Microsoft Office’s official page, “Requests for personal information in an e-mail message is the most common “phishing” detector. Most legitimate businesses have a policy that they do not ask you for your personal information through e-mail. Be very suspicious of a message that asks for personal information even if it might look legitimate”. I don’t typical notice phishing messages because I have a habit of deleting all emails that I am not expecting correspondence from. I never check my spam unless I know there may have been something sent there by accident from an expected origin. I’m sure that I have some in my email right now, but I don’t read them. Several years ago, I got one of those emails stating that this person needed help getting money out their country. They were willing to give me a percentage of the money once they could transfer it to my account and get it in the Unites States. They needed my account number to do this and there was a link that I could click on. I knew it wasn’t legitimate because once again the spelling and grammar was awful, they asked from private account information and the simple logic of how they knew to contact me. According to C/NET there are several steps that you can take to avoid becoming a victim of “phishing”. First, change passwords regularly. Even if this particular breach hadn't occurred, many experts recommend that you change your password about every three months. Next, click cautiously. If you get an e-mail that appears to be from legitimate site with a request that you click on a link to visit the site for any reason, including updating your security information, think before you click. It might be taking you to a rogue site that captures that information for possible identity theft or other crime. It's safer to just type in the URL yourself. Lastly, think critically.
If something seems too good to be true, it's almost invariably too good to be true. Think about what you're about to do on any site you visit, especially if it's a site you don't already trust. Never use the same password on an unknown site that you use for e-mail, banking, or other sites where security is essential. The most important thing in my opinion is safe guard your private information at all cost, when in doubt go directly to the company’s or bank’s website and do your business.

References
Magid, L. (2009). Avoid being a victim to an email phishing scam. CNET Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10368801-238.html
Microsoft (2013). Identify fraudulent e-mail and phishing schemes. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/identify-fraudulent-e-mail- and-phishing-schemes-HA001140002.aspx

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