Have you been a victim of phishing Essays - 2115 Words

Have you been a victim of phishing? Many words have been added to the English language from the birth of the Internet. Some of these words have been created from the basis of something in existence and others do not seem to be related at all. The resent topic in the Internet world is phishing, a new type of identity theft that is done directly over the Internet without its victims knowing they are being misled. This issue has been a concern of all who are involved. The biggest worry is how can this be prevented? Definition When you think of the word phishing, without seeing it spelled you think of a boat, a pole and maybe a relaxing time on the lake, but this may be just the opposite. The word phishing when†¦show more content†¦The email will look like it is a real company sometimes with the same logos as on their websites, which will say something to the effect of ‘we need to update your account information’ or ‘your account has been deactivated, click here to re-activate’. When you do not pay attention to the little details, it is hard to see that the email being sent to you is not from the company stated. David Jevans of the Anti-Phishing Working Group said, â€Å"They are so sophisticated, that even computer security experts sometimes have a hard time telling the real ones from the fake ones.† (Phishing for your Identity) The number of phishing attacks has increased tremendously over the last few years. It has been calculated that over the last y ear, phishing scams cost online banks over $1.2 billion; this amount was quite an increase from previous years. (The Facts) History Phishing is a topic that has surfaced recently in news stories but the idea has been around for a while. Most of the time, when phishing emails went out prior to the innovation of copying credible site appearances, it was easy to tell what was a fake email opposed to a true email. Usually, the emails were sent with bad grammar and spelling errors. However, things have gotten more sophisticated with the help of increased technology. (A Brief History) As these phishing schemes become more and more advanced, the number of attacks increases tremendously. The statistics of the number of increases are astonishing,Show MoreRelatedProtecting Yourself from Identity Theft Essay1745 Words   |  7 PagesYou come home late one night after a rough day at work. You’re hungry, tired, achy and all you want to do is lie down. You pick up the mail and notice a letter from a credit card company you don’t have a contract with. Slowly, you open the envelope, not knowing what to ex pect. Suddenly, pure terror fills you as you stare at a bill for over five thousand dollars. You reassure yourself and say this obviously must be some mistake. You never opened this credit card account, but yet it’s in your nameRead MoreIdentity Theft Essay1749 Words   |  7 PagesYou come home late one night after a rough day at work. 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