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How To Avoid Phishing: Are You Safe?

20 October 2009 4 Comments
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Tahimik ang gabi mo at nag mumuni muni. Pa relax relax at naisipan mong buksan ang computer mo. Pindot dito, login doon hintay ng kaunti at binuksan mo na home page ng browser mo. Facebook, Multiply, Friendster,Twitter at Plurk, present ka ba sa mga ito? Pwes, ikaw na ang susunod na biktima!

For the past years, users of social networking site have tripled and other sites go live every hour. From the famous ones down to private communities, it seems that there’s nothing stopping the growth of social networking. For the past months, metrics have showed that Facebook surpassed Google as the number one site in the world. Yeah, that’s how famous these social networking sites are and dangerous.

Kung maraming snatcher at holdaper sa Quiapo at Cubao, marami ding mga identity thieves sa internet. Nag uumpisa ito sa mga users nagpapadala ng mga links sa kanilang mga kaibigan or mga “Friends”. Pagkatanggap ng link, dahil galling sa friend mo, op kors, click ka lang at pagka click mo, dadalhin ka nito sa isa pang website na halos kamukha ng mga social networking sites.

Dito na nag uumpisa ang tinatawag na Phishing or ang pagkuha ng mga mahahalagang impormasyon para makompromiso ang iyong account. At kapag nakapag login na sila sa iyong account, kaya na nilang ikalat ito sa mga friends mo. Simple di ba?

Bakit May Phishing

  • To be redirected to sites for profit fueled by the number of visitors. Ads impressions?
  • To obtain information such as account user name and password. Some go to the extent of getting your bank account number or credit card profile.

How To Avoid Phishing

  • Be careful of links. If they were shortened, for example http://bit.ly/barrio, there is no way for users to see the original URL. Install plugin like the bit.ly preview plugin to expand short URLs in web pages or messages.
  • Be sure you are running anti-virus software. You can choose from Norton, McAffee, AVG, etc. and make sure they are updated. There are products that can detect Phishing activities.
  • Read before you click. Prevention is better than cure.
  • Check and double check.

If you’re a non-tech person, it is not an excuse not to educate yourself with how to be safe on the internet. If you are using these social media tools or are present in any social networking sites, be reminded that you too can be a victim of these cybercriminals.

So, are you safe?

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Rob is is from the small city of Angeles in Pampanga. He earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science at the Angeles University Foundation and has over 12 years of IT experience carrying different roles from software development, database architecture and project management. Most of the projects he handled are development and deployment of large, mission-critical applications from multi-national companies and government agencies around the United States. He is also the founder and author of Social Media Philippines and is now in Fort Worth, Texas working for the government as an Application Security Architect and is preparing for his MBA.

4 Comments »

  • Tyrone | Millionaire Acts says:
    October 20, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    With the economic downturn, there are a lot of people who do phishing nowadays to scam people.

    I myself was a victim of this scam before. There was an invitation sent to my email for a job opening in Canada. It looks really real as it uses a personalized email address that coincides with the website of the company.

    I sent them my interests and then they replied back. Too bad, I sent my resume. Good thing, I never included any contact info except for my email add. I was too naive. I then Google it and found some results about that scam.

    Chances are if you are in doubt, double check it by doing a research.

    Reply
    • reynz says:
      October 20, 2009 at 7:44 pm

      Hi Tyrone,

      And the sad thing about Pinoys submitting resumes is that, they include everything. As in including birthdates of everyone in the family. Not only that – you’d see SSS and TIN numbers too.

      Reply
      • Rob Angeles says:
        October 21, 2009 at 2:13 am

        Plus signature! Kulang na lang suking tindahan. LOL!

        Anyway, Phishing is something that social networking site users should be aware of and the number of victims is growing every year.

        Reply
  • reynz says:
    October 20, 2009 at 8:28 pm

    Related articles that could be of interest to you:

    Facebook, Twitter users beware: Crooks are a mouse click away

    Since 2006, nearly 3,200 account hijacking cases have been reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

    It starts with a friend updating his or her status or sending you a message with an innocent link or video. Maybe your friend is in distress abroad and needs some help.

    All you have to do is click.

    When the message or link is opened, social network users are lured to fake Web sites that trick them into divulging personal details and passwords. The process, known as a phishing attack or malware, can infiltrate users’ accounts without their consent.

    Once the account is compromised, the thieves can infiltrate the list of friends or contacts and repeat the attack on subsequent victims. Social networking sites show there is ample opportunity to find more victims; the average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site

    Reply

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