Consumer Information

What is a phishing attack?

Also called social engineering, 'phishing' is when an online attacker creates a spoofed email to lead the recipients to a call-to-action, such as "Your login may have been compromised, click below to secure your account...". These fraudsters generate email addresses and send these messages in a large blast to drive people to an imposter website.

What are they after?

Not only your personal information such as Social Security Number and account number, but other common information such as login and password combinations. This is captured by installing unwanted software on your computer when you click a link, or tricking you into going to a spoofed website and entering login information. Your login ID and password combinations are then captured. The hacker will try these stolen credentials at common retailers like Amazon.com or iTunes, banks, and other outlets such as PayPal, Gmail, Hotmail, or Facebook in hopes of accessing more personal information.

How do you spot a fraudulent request?

These emails look real, as do the websites they direct you to. Here are some ways to spot frauds:

1. If the email is from someone you do not do business with, assume it is fraud and do not click on any links.
2. A bank will never ever send you an email asking for you to login to verify security.
3. Be suspicious of any email asking you to do something online. If you didn't request a password change, call the company to verify the request.
4. Look closely at the senders email address. If there are characters after the '.com' (ie, xxx@westnet.com.au), this is typically a sign that the e-mail address is not based in the US - an immediate red flag.
5. If the sender is someone you know, make sure the content looks like something they would send. If in doubt, verify with a phone call. We all have seen the take-over of a friend's personal email.

What do you do?

If you received an e-mail and clicked on the provided link and feel your computer may be infected with "malware" (malicious software), visit www.onguardonline.gov/malware for steps you can take to detect, avoid, and eliminate malware.