Phishing Emails

Phishing Emails

Phishing Emails are emails that look very similiar to emails from your bank or other financial organisations such as Paypal, Ebay etc. The only difference being that although they look similiar and may even have the same logo and layout, they're not!

Phishing Emails are designed to trick the recipient into entering personal financial information into a bogus or phishing website usually by clicking a link somewhere in the email message. Although the link may have what appears to be the correct web address of the financial organisation, it can actually be deceptive and by clicking on one of these, you will usually be led to another website which mimics the real one but which is in reality false and set-up simply to steal your personal details such as your account number, passwords, credit card number, expiry date etc.

There are several ways to check these emails:

1. If the email is addressed to "Dear Customer" or "Dear Paypal Member" then you can be rest assured it's fake. Any financial organisation that already holds your details would have your name included in the greeting.

2. Check the email for minor (and sometimes major) spelling mistakes and grammar - many of these phishing emails originate from other countries and to be honest their lack of good written English is sometimes obvious in the content.

3. The two most popular browsers Firefox and Internet Explorer both have software included that can identity phishing content in most websites and emails and both will alert you if anything suspicious occurs. It's important however that you keep your browsers up to date with any security updates as they are released. Other software packages are available (mostly free) including Various Toolbars, Ebay Toolbar, Google Safe Browsing, McAfee Site Advisor and Windows Mail.

4. Finally if you receive an email from an institution that you're a member of and you're not sure if it's genuine - phone the company and check first. Never click on any links in emails - instead type the web address of the company (from one of their letters or statements) directly into your browser - this will stop you from unknowingly visiting a phishing site.