Understanding Computer Identity Theft Methods - Phishing

One of the most popular computer identity theft methods today is phishing. Spelled in true hacker fashion, phishing means, well, fishing by baiting people to divulge their personal data. This mode of computer identity theft uses two kinds of bait.

The first type of bait would be an e-mail asking you to give your personal data (e.g., credit card number, password, etc.) in an e-mail reply.

The second kind of bait used in this type of computer identity theft is a spoofed website, which appears to be an exact replica of a trusted site.

Still using e-mail, you'll be asked to click on a link to the website of a legitimate company you know or transact business with. The e-mail will tell you that you need to visit the bogus website to confirm your account information.

If the fake website truly appears like your bank website and you innocently type in your bank account number and PIN or password, you become a victim of computer identity theft. The phisher can now use your entries to clean out your bank account and/or commit fraud.

In the past, incidents of phishing involved banks mostly. But lately, identity thieves have expanded their activities to include insurance firms and even hotels!

Computer identity theft targeted at a specific group, such as an organization or credit union, is called spear phishing.

Computer Identity Theft - When They're Out of Bait…

Computer identity theft doesn't even need bait to succeed. When identity thieves phish without bait it's called pharming. This type of computer identity theft is more sophisticated as it involves the planting of malicious code in your PC or your server. This malicious code will misdirect you to bogus websites.

One of the most sophisticated ways that pharmers commit computer identity theft is by sending out e-mail – which can victimize you even if you don't open an attachment!

By simply opening the pharmer's e-mail, a virus or trojan automatically installs itself in your PC. When you try to visit a legitimate website, the trojan will redirect you to the pharmer's spoofed website.

When you enter your personal data, the bogus site harvests it and you become a victim of this sophisticated type of computer identity theft. But there is an even more sophisticated way by which pharmers can still your personal info – and it doesn't even need e-mail!

In this most advance type of computer identity theft, the pharmer uses a trojan password stealer, which attacks via Microsoft Messenger where viruses are run.

Called key loggers, these viruses monitor your keystrokes on the sites you visit, steal your passwords, and leave you open to criminals who can use your passwords for illegal transactions.

Next article: Internet Identity Theft - A Catch 22 Situation

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