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Protect yourself from online fraud
Protect yourself from online fraud
Phishing
What is phishing
An increasingly common form of spam email has appeared with far more harmful effects than standard spam. Phishing uses deceptive emails or pop-ups in an attempt to steal personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords or account details.
How does phishing work?
Phishing works by the malicious user sending bogus e-mails from popular websites or from sites that you trust, like your bank or credit card company. The e-mails, and the websites they often send you to, look official enough that they deceive many people into believing that they're legitimate. Sometimes the email even refers to what looks like a legitimate website but actually takes you to a fake site or a popup window that looks like the official site. Believing that these e-mails are legitimate, unsuspecting people too often respond to the e-mail's requests for their credit card numbers, passwords, account information, or other personal information.
How to protect yourself from phishing
An increasingly common form of spam email has appeared with far more harmful effects than standard spam. Phishing uses deceptive emails or pop-ups in an attempt to steal personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords or account details.
How does phishing work?
Phishing works by the malicious user sending bogus e-mails from popular websites or from sites that you trust, like your bank or credit card company. The e-mails, and the websites they often send you to, look official enough that they deceive many people into believing that they're legitimate. Sometimes the email even refers to what looks like a legitimate website but actually takes you to a fake site or a popup window that looks like the official site. Believing that these e-mails are legitimate, unsuspecting people too often respond to the e-mail's requests for their credit card numbers, passwords, account information, or other personal information.
How to protect yourself from phishing
- Never respond to requests for personal/billing information via e-mail. If in doubt, call the company/organisation that claims to have sent you the e-mail.
- Check to make sure the Web site is using encryption for your personal details. This can be determined by clicking on the yellow lock icon in the bottom of your Internet Explorer window to view the sites security certificate If the security certificate shows an Issued name matching the site name it is unlikely the site has been spoofed.
- Routinely review your credit card and bank statements.
- Report suspected abuses of your personal information to the company which has been spoofed and to the Internet Fraud Complaint Centre at http://www.ifccfbi.gov/.
Premium rate Diallers
What are diallers
Diallers are malicious programs that can change your Internet access number to a premium rate number without your knowledge leaving users with a huge phone bill. This method of changing the dialup number is normally one employed by websites to offer services such as computer-based games and adult content. Normally this change of numbers cannot occur without a popup message or warning asking you to install a program with a message such as "Do you want to download and install the dialler?"
If you do not want to access premium-rate content, do not click the Yes button when prompted - instead close the window or pop-up. Although most premium rate diallers will require you to select Yes before they download and install themselves on to your computer, there are known cases of diallers installing themselves without any prior warning.
Other techniques employed by diallers may arrive as email attachments and do not ask for your permission before they install themselves. These programs silently make calls to a premium rate number at your expense profiting a illegitimate 3rd party.
How to avoid premium-rate diallers
Report premium-rate diallers
If you believe you have been a victim of a premium-rate dialler, you can contact the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICTIS), a regulatory body that monitors the premium-rate telecommunications industry. You will need to provide full details, including the premium-rate telephone number listed on your bill.
Diallers are malicious programs that can change your Internet access number to a premium rate number without your knowledge leaving users with a huge phone bill. This method of changing the dialup number is normally one employed by websites to offer services such as computer-based games and adult content. Normally this change of numbers cannot occur without a popup message or warning asking you to install a program with a message such as "Do you want to download and install the dialler?"
If you do not want to access premium-rate content, do not click the Yes button when prompted - instead close the window or pop-up. Although most premium rate diallers will require you to select Yes before they download and install themselves on to your computer, there are known cases of diallers installing themselves without any prior warning.
Other techniques employed by diallers may arrive as email attachments and do not ask for your permission before they install themselves. These programs silently make calls to a premium rate number at your expense profiting a illegitimate 3rd party.
How to avoid premium-rate diallers
- When you dial your Internet connection check that the dialup number begins with a national rate number (e.g. 0844, 0845 or 0808) rather than a premium rate number
- Ensure your browser security settings are set to medium with the normal defaults which will ensure you are prompted before programs are downloaded to your computer
- Keep your operating system patched with the latest security updates. If you use Microsoft Windows simply visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and scan an d update your computer with the latest updates.
- If you do not intend to call any premium rate numbers you can contact your phone provider (e.g. BT, NTL) to request to have your phone-line barred from making premium rate calls.
- Never open an email attachment unless you know what it is and trust the sender. Make sure that you have antivirus software installed on your computer to detect any viruses or worms in email attachments.
- Install firewall software so that you can detect any activity or processes running without your permission. To find out more about firewalls click here.
Report premium-rate diallers
If you believe you have been a victim of a premium-rate dialler, you can contact the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICTIS), a regulatory body that monitors the premium-rate telecommunications industry. You will need to provide full details, including the premium-rate telephone number listed on your bill.
Adware and Spyware
What is Adware?
Adware is software that displays advertisements on your computer without your permission, even if you're not browsing the Internet.
What is Spyware?
Spyware is software that sends your personal information to a 3rd party without your permission or knowledge. This can include information about websites you visit or more sensitive information like your user name and password.
How to detect and remove them from your computer?
There is a lot of free software available on the Internet although care should be taken downloading them as some actually act as spyware themselves. These programs will hunt down any suspicious programs, describe what you they do and offer you an opportunity of deleting them from your system. It is advisable to do this on a regular basis and popular free software includes Ad-aware, Spybot and SpywareBlaster. Microsoft has also launched a beta version of their own spyware detector which can be downloaded here.
How to prevent their installation
Adware is software that displays advertisements on your computer without your permission, even if you're not browsing the Internet.
What is Spyware?
Spyware is software that sends your personal information to a 3rd party without your permission or knowledge. This can include information about websites you visit or more sensitive information like your user name and password.
How to detect and remove them from your computer?
There is a lot of free software available on the Internet although care should be taken downloading them as some actually act as spyware themselves. These programs will hunt down any suspicious programs, describe what you they do and offer you an opportunity of deleting them from your system. It is advisable to do this on a regular basis and popular free software includes Ad-aware, Spybot and SpywareBlaster. Microsoft has also launched a beta version of their own spyware detector which can be downloaded here.
How to prevent their installation
- Make sure the programs you install don't contain adware. Many freeware programs do include adware, as a means or revenue for the publishers. If you are unsure about a specific program use a search engine like Google to look for pages talking about the program with the keywords adware or spyware.
- Install a pop-up blocker to prevent adware and spyware pop-up windows. Most spyware installs after you click a deceptive link in a pop-up browser window. Pop-up blockers are already included with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and also in software such as the Google toolbar.
- If you are prompted with a dialog box to download an application, update or specific software be sure that you can trust the application prior to clicking Yes.
Virus list
