Post by Christy The Admin on Dec 14, 2006 11:55:14 GMT -5
A very popular method of stealing information right now is to make an email that looks like it came from a popular service: MySpace, PayPal, Ebay, a bank, etc. and providing a link that asks the user for personal information.
The ones I see most often come from people disguised as PayPal or Ebay, saying my account is disabled, there's a security problem or an Ebay user has asked a question. The link provided in the email looks like it comes from the actual site. You click it and input your username, password and potentially other information and bam. You're screwed. Your information is then used to steal identities, use your accounts to send spam, and any number of other wonderful things.
It's easy to make a disguised link. For instance, I could say you need to go here: www.paypal.com/ It certainly looks like a link to PayPal but if you click it you'll end up at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
That's a harmless one of course but if you ever get an email from any place that needs personal information from you, even if only a username and password, do NOT click ANY link in the email, even if it's a legit email. Go directly to paypal.com, ebay.com, myspace.com, your bank or wherever else. When you log in I can assure you, 999 times out of 1,000 there is no problem needing your attention. Taking that step can save you a lot of headaches in the future.
The ones I see most often come from people disguised as PayPal or Ebay, saying my account is disabled, there's a security problem or an Ebay user has asked a question. The link provided in the email looks like it comes from the actual site. You click it and input your username, password and potentially other information and bam. You're screwed. Your information is then used to steal identities, use your accounts to send spam, and any number of other wonderful things.
It's easy to make a disguised link. For instance, I could say you need to go here: www.paypal.com/ It certainly looks like a link to PayPal but if you click it you'll end up at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
That's a harmless one of course but if you ever get an email from any place that needs personal information from you, even if only a username and password, do NOT click ANY link in the email, even if it's a legit email. Go directly to paypal.com, ebay.com, myspace.com, your bank or wherever else. When you log in I can assure you, 999 times out of 1,000 there is no problem needing your attention. Taking that step can save you a lot of headaches in the future.