What is phishing?

Phishing is a technique used to gain personal information for purposes of identity theft, using fraudulent e-mail messages that appear to come from legitimate businesses. These authentic-looking messages are designed to fool recipients into divulging personal data such as account numbers and passwords, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers.    Below are 2 samples or phishing emails. Notice these url links, they appear to be ligitimate but they really point to different sites.   https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webs-scr?cmd =_login-run https://arribada.ebay.com/saw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?PlaceCCInfo

-----Original Message----- From: salamj@server1060.gisol.com [mailto:salamj@server1060.gisol.com]On Behalf Of aw-confirm@ebay.com Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 12:24 PM To: pagadian@pagadian.org Subject: eBay Security Validation Dear eBay customer, During our regularly scheduled account maintenance and verification procedures, we have detected error in your billing information. This might be due to either of the following reasons: 1. A recent change in your personal information ( i.e.change of address). 2. Submiting invalid information during the initial sign up process. 3. An inability to accurately verify your selected option of payment due to an internal error within our processors. Please update and verify your information by clicking the link below:  https://arribada.ebay.com/saw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?PlaceCCInfo If your account information is not updated within 48 hours then your ability to sell or bid on eBay will become restricted. Thank you The eBay Billing Deptartment .

-----Original Message----- From: PayPal Service [mailto:service@paypal.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 4:28 PM To: pagadian@pagadian.org Subject: PayPal account Suspended Dear Paypal User,  In accordance with our major database relocation we are currently having major adjustments and updates of user accounts to verify that the informations you have provided with us during the sign up process are true and correct. However, we have noticed some discrepancies regarding your account at Paypal. Possible causes are inaccurate contact information and invalid logout process.  We require you to complete an account verification procedure as part of our security measure.  You must click the link below to complete the process.  https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webs-scr?cmd =_login-run Unable to do so may result to abnormal account behavior during transactions. Thank you for using PayPal! The PayPal Team

Tips on how to avoid the Internet scam known as phishing. * If you receive an unexpected e-mail saying your account will be shut down unless you confirm your billing information, do not reply or click any links in the e-mail body. * Before submitting financial information through a Web site, look for the "lock" icon on the browser's status bar. It means your information is secure during transmission. * If you are uncertain about the information, contact the company through an address or telephone number you know to be genuine. * If you unknowingly supplied personal or financial information, contact your bank and credit card company immediately. * Suspicious e-mail can be forwarded to uce@ftc.gov, and complaints should be filed with the state attorney general's office or through the FTC at www.ftc.gov.