PHISHING

WHAT IS PHISHING ? WHAT IS PHISHING ATTACK ?

Many people wonder what is phishing, against which so many warnings come in the media. Phishing attack is the attempt to obtain sensitive information like usernames , passwords , credit card details , bank account details , date of birth etc with malicious intent to defraud the victim by disguising as a reputed trustworthy entity through electronic communication .

Phishing , in simple words is an attempt to get your usernames , passwords etc by unknown persons / criminals with intention to steal your money from your bank accounts and credit cards . Just like offering bites to fishes to catch them , senders of fraudulent e-mails make you part your data with attractive offers using duplicate , but looking similar to , original websites . Instead of e-mails , victims may also be approached through SMS , WhatsApp messages or Facebook postings .

TYPES OF PHISHING :

There are various techniques used by criminals to lure you to part with sensitive data . Some of them are :

1. SPEAR PHISHING : The attackers first gather information about their potential victim by using social media or other methods and then send the baits using emails / mobiles / SMS etc . The criminals use the method often as chances of victims believing them and parting the required data is high in this technique .

2. CLONE PHISHING : Attackers send a very similar e-mail already received by you from a genuine / bonafide entity , but with an attachment of malicious content , appearing to be coming from genuine site .

3. LINK MANIPULATION : Misspelled URLs are sent to make the websites look real by altering an alphabet / number of the original website . Manipulated URL will take the victim to a malicious website

4. SMS PHISHING : Instead of e-mails , attackers send SMS messages which take he victim to a malicious website .

5 TELE CALLING : Attackers pose as the tele-callers of a reputed bank or the bank where you have account / credit / debit card and obtain information from you by luring special offers .

INDIA IS IN TOP 3 COUNTRIES TARGETED FOR PHISHING : REPORT

Dated 30.05.2018 : According to RSA Quarterly Fraud Report Q1-2018 , India is one of the top 3 target countries for phishing and malware attacks noticed in the first quarter of 2018 . The two others countries having more attacks are U.S.A and Canada .
Report also points out that more and more rogue Mobile App originated over the period and now they account for 39 % of the total frauds , followed by mobile browsers with 26 % of share of frauds .

HOW TO PREVENT PHISHING ?

FEW TIPS FOR SAFEGUARDING AGAINST PHISHING :

1. Keep informed about phishing techniques . Fraudsters constantly change their modus operandi . Get updated .

2. Think before clicking on links provided in an e-mail received .

3. Be wary of providing sensitive personal information on-line . Check whether website has https:// link on toolbar . Make double sure that the website is genuine . You can get URL from google search directly .

4. Use anti virus software , anti -spyware , malware protection applications and firewalls to protect your computers from malicious attacks .

5. Be wary of pop ups .

6. Never store your username , password , i-pin on your computer .

6. In case of doubt , directly contact service providers / banks and check whether they have sent such e-mails .

7. Check your bank accounts regularly for any unauthorized transaction . Report to the bank immediately on finding out any such transaction .