And that is one of the key lessons. Never download from sites with which you are not totally familiar. Just as you would instruct your children not to take candy from strangers, you should also instruct them never to download music, games, or anything else from an unknown source.
There is just too much of a risk of malware. Once the malware is installed on your computer, you may, in the course of your normal computer use, correctly type in the name of a bank or other company with which you do business but end up being directed to a phony website even though the domain name that appears on the address line may indicate the correct, legitimate address of the bank or other business you were trying to contact.
The truth is that the address of the legitimate website has been hijacked by the identity thieves, and their malware is now imbedded in your computer. Once you arrive at the phony website, if you succumb to the requests for personal information on the website, you are on your way to becoming a victim of identity theft.
The truth is, you should never click on links within emails from people with whom you’re not familiar. Don’t provide personal information online to anyone with whom you are not totally familiar. And, of course, keep your computer as secure as possible through the use of spam filters and antivirus and antispyware software along with a good fi rewall. It is also critical to keep that protective software current because scammers are constantly improving their technology. Vishing takes advantage of a new technological advance for a scam.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a new technology that permits people to make telephone calls through their computer instead of a phone line. If you call a regular telephone number from your computer, your voice converts into a digital signal that transmits over the Internet and then converts to a regular telephone signal when it reaches the regular telephone that you want to call.
People who would be wary of an email message purporting to be from their bank or credit card company telling them that their security has been breached are more likely to trust a message they receive in a telephone call. And that is just what the scammers do in a new technique that is known as vishing. A recorded phone message is sent out by computers using Voice over Internet Protocol technology to vast numbers of potential victims telling them that their bank account or credit card security has been breached and that they should call the security offi ce of the bank or credit card company immediately.
Once the victim calls the number, a prerecorded message tells them that for account verification, they need to provide their name as well as their bank account number or credit card number. When they provide this information, their security actually is breached because this is a scam. The truth is, if you were to receive such a legitimate call regarding your bank account or credit card, it would not be through a prerecorded message.
In addition, you should never call the number provided to you by an unsolicited telephone call. Instead, you should go to your monthly bank statement or credit card statement and retrieve the telephone number for your bank or credit card company that you know is legitimate. You can then call the company to see if the call to you was legitimate.
Read More : Identity Theft via Pharming Phishing
