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- How to Spot a Fake E-mail (Phishing)
- Pharming
- How to spot a Fake Website (Pharming) :
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Safety Tips
protect yourself:
Consumer awareness is the key to avoid falling prey to phishers and pharmers.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group (an association focused on eliminating the fraud and identity theft that result from phishing, pharming, and email spoofing) offers the following suggestions to avoid falling victim to an Internet scheme:
Note: Spam filters typically do not provide users with protection against pharming, as pharming is not perpetrated through the spreading of spam emails.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group (an association focused on eliminating the fraud and identity theft that result from phishing, pharming, and email spoofing) offers the following suggestions to avoid falling victim to an Internet scheme:
- Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information.
- Do not use the links in an email to get to any web page.
- Avoid completing forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information.
- Be sure to use a secure web site when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via the web browser.
- Consider installing a web browser tool bar for protection from known phishing fraud web sites.
- Regularly log on to online accounts.
- Regularly check bank, credit card, and debit card statements to ensure all transactions are legitimate.
- Make sure your browser is up to date and security patches are applied.
Note: Spam filters typically do not provide users with protection against pharming, as pharming is not perpetrated through the spreading of spam emails.
Laws:
In March of 2005, United States Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Anti-Phishing Act of 2005. The anti-phishing / anti-pharming bill proposes that criminals who utilize phishing and related hacker techniques such as pharming in order to defraud consumers be fined up to $250,000 and receive jail terms of up to five years.
If you have been a victim:
If you have received a spoofed email message or believe that you have been a victim of phishing or pharming, there are steps you can take to help shut down the phisher, pharmer, or spoofer:
For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation.
- Forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at [email protected]
- Forward the email to the “abuse” email address at the company that is being spoofed (e.g. [email protected] )
- Notify the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) of the FBI by filing a complaint on the IFCC’s web site: www.ifccfbi.gov
- Act immediately if you’ve been hooked by a pharmer. If you provided account numbers, PINs, or passwords to a pharmer, notify the companies with whom you have the accounts right away. For information about how to put a “fraud alert” on your files at the credit reporting bureaus and other advice for ID theft victims, contact the Federal Trade Commission’s ID Theft Clearinghouse, www.consumer.gov/idtheft or toll-free, 877-438-4338. The TDD number is 202-326-2502.
- Equifax - www.equifax.com
- To order your report, call: 800-685-1111 or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
- To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285 and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
- Hearing impaired call 1-800-255-0056 and ask the operator to call the Auto Disclosure Line at 1-800-685-1111 to request a copy of your report.
- Experian - www.experian.com
- To order your report, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write: P.O. Box 2002, Allen TX 75013
- To report fraud, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) and write: P.O. Box 9530, Allen TX 75013 TDD: 1-800-972-0322
- Trans Union - www.transunion.com
- To order your report, call: 800-888-4213 or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
- To report fraud, call: 800-680-7289 and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634 TDD: 1-877-553-7803
- Even if you didn’t get hooked, report Pharming. Tell the company or agency that the pharmer was impersonating.
- You can also report the problem to law enforcement agencies through the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch, www.fraud.org or 800-876-7060, TDD 202-835-0778. The information you provide helps to stop identity theft.
- File a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation.