Phishing Scams: Don't Get Fooled (Like I Did)

According to Wikipedia: "In computing, phishing is a criminal activity using social engineering techniques. Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication."

I should have known better. I never fall for those phishing scams. Well, almost never....

You know what I'm talking about: You get an e-mail from Paypal, eBay or your bank. The email looks genuine. All of the familiar graphics are there on the page. It looks exactly like the real website. How was I to know I was being set up for a scam.

Here's what happened:

I had just completed an auction at eBay. A very successful auction. eBay immediately sent me an email. At least I thought it was from eBay. The e-mail said I owed money from my auction. The email explained I needed to pay immediately or my account would be suspended. I certainly didn't want my account suspended, I wanted to pay. I looked at the email and I clicked where it said to click. I filled in my user name and password, just like I always do when I log onto eBay. Then nothing happened. Wow, I thought. Strange. Maybe just an Internet glitch. It happens all the time.

I opened a new window and manually typed in the eBay address. As soon as I logged onto the "real" eBay, I realized, I had been scammed.

I immediately changed my password. Then I logged onto Paypal and changed that password. I narrowly averted disaster. I learned my lesson, again.
Don't fall for Phishing scams.

If you ever get an email from anyone, asking you to log into your account from a link in the email: DON'T DO IT!

Log into your account from a different browser window and manually type in the address. Be careful out there. The bad guys are counting on you to take the easy way, and click on the link. Just like I did.
If you get such a message, delete it immediately. If the email says it's from Paypal or eBay you can forward it to them at this address:

spoof@paypal.com
spoof@ebay.com

The Anti-Phishing work group has some great advice:

Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information

Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic or you don't know the sender or user's handle

Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information

Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser

You can find other great advice on what to do about phishing scams by going to:

Anti-Phishing work group

http://www.antiphishing.org/

Remember: Let's be careful out there. You are one click away from being scammed...