Learn to Identify Fraudulent Email "Phishing" Scams
A Phishing scam is an email fraud in which the perpetrator sends legitimate looking emails that appear to come from a well-known and trustworthy website in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from a recipient. Recipients of these emails can be easily fooled by the color schemes, templates, and wording contained in the emails.
There are two types of Phishing scams. The first type of scam asks you to respond to an email with your account password or Social Security number in order to prevent immediate closure of your bank account, email account, or other service. If you receive a message that asks you to send in your CNet password, it is a fraudulent email. The second type of scam asks you to click on a link to a fake site and log in with your password to verify your account. Once you've responded to either of these types of scams, you've placed your personal information in the hands of scammers who can misuse it.
To help you identify when you have received a fraudulent email, NSIT maintains a Phishing website to help you identify potential scams. The site contains examples of phishing scams that have circulated throughout the University community, questions you can ask yourself when determining whether an email is from a legitimate institution, tips on identifying fake URLs, and a link to a fun interactive game that will help you learn about phishing. The site also contains information on reporting scams, and external links for more information.
By educating yourself about the tactics used by email scammers, you can be prepared to identify fraudulent emails. Get started here.
Last updated: 6/10/08