Seventy Percent of the Population Unable to Recognize a Phishing Scam

Twenty five percent of us will receive a phishing attack aimed at stealing our identity and or financial information every month, according to the AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Online Safety Study. Also discovered in this survey is that about seventy percent of us, who receive these phishing e-mails won't be able to identify them as a scam.

According to my friends at Wikipedia, "phishing is a form of social engineering, characterised by attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an apparently official electronic communication, such as an email or an instant message. The term phishing arises from the use of increasingly sophisticated lures to "fish" for users' financial information and passwords."

The activity is also becoming more sophisticated and these e-mails often inject malware (malicious software) on systems, which can automatically capture personal information via Keyloggers. Keyloggers automatically record "keystrokes" (including passwords, account information etc.) and sends them back to the cyber criminal responsible for putting the software on someone's system.

For those of us, who are unfamiliar with phishing scams, which are getting more sophisticated all the time, a great place to learn how to protect yourself is Stay Safe Online, or the National Cyber Security Alliance.

Phishing designed to steal personal information is a rapidly growing enterprise and with internet access and computers becoming more readily available (cheaper), there are a growing number of victims. Nine million people in the United States fall victim to having their identities stolen (every year) according to the government!

There is also a lot of information on this blog designed to provide resources (often free) on how to avoid becoming a victim of internet scams. Phishing is a subject, I have covered extensively and the blog can be "searched" by "keyword" at the top.

Another great resource to learn about the dangers of identity theft and what to do if one becomes a victim is the Federal Trade Commission: ID Theft website, courtesy of the FTC.

With the holiday season upon us, it is traditional to share goodwill. If seventy percent of us are unaware of the potential dangers of phishing, take a moment and help educate someone you care about. Think about it, if everyone in the world did this, we would protect the innocent and deal a severe blow against the immoral cyberscum, who ruin people's lives for their own gain.