The Internet makes it easier to accomplish many things - banking, research, travel, and shopping are all at our virtual fingertips. And just as the Internet makes it easier for legitmate pursuits, it also makes it easier for scammers, con artists, and other online miscreants to carry out their virtual crimes - impacting our real life finances, security, and peace of mind. These Internet scams are constantly evolving - here are the most common today.
Phishing email try to trick the intended victim into visiting a fraudulent website disguised to look like a valid eCommerce or banking site. The victim thinks they are logging into their real account, but instead everything they enter on the fake site is being sent to the scammers. Armed with this information, the scammer can wipe out the victim's accounts, run up their credit cards, or even steal their identity.
Examples of common phishing scams
How to Ferret Out a Phish
Where to Report Phishing Scams
Imagine opening your email inbox and reading a message from an alleged assassin - claiming you're the target. It sounds like something out of a horror movie, but it's been happening in real life to hundreds of people. The gist of the email - pay the hitman thousands of dollars, or die.
Scams, in general, are the new malware delivery method. Social engineering is the norm. Falsifying a link is the hallmark of phishing scams, seeded downloader Trojans, and other web-based malware. And it's all trivially easy to do, using basic HTML.
Fraudulent Link Scams
Ferreting Out a Fake
Verifying a Link
