The Bad Guys Are Phishing For Your Personal Information

Do you know what "phishing" is?

No, it doesn't mean you grab a pole and head to the late to catch some phish.

The official Webopedia definition of "phishing" is as follows:

The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.

Phishers prey on ignorance, fear, and emotion. They also play the numbers game. The more bait they email out, the more phish they'll catch.. By spamming large groups of people, the "phisher" counts on his email being read and believed by a percentage of people who will volunteer their personal and credit card information.

The latest attempt by identity theives to steal the personal information of eBay members hit my inbox earlier this week and I have to say, this one is pretty convincing. Even this old dog did a double-take before realizing that the identity thieves were phishing for my personal information again.

The sender of this email is listed as: eBay Member - rivernick and the email subject line reads: Question from eBay Member.

The email begins: "Question from eBay Member -- Respond Now. eBay sent this message on behalf of an eBay member via My Messages. Responses sent using email will not reach the eBay member. Use the Respond Now button below to respond to this message."

Listen to me: DON'T TOUCH THAT BUTTON

Of course the email was NOT sent by an eBay member or sent via eBay's messaging system, as it appears.

The email then takes on a threatening tone.

It reads: "Question from rivernick: I'm still waiting payment for my item for about 7 days. What happened? Please mail me ASAP or I will report you to ebay."

The recipient is then prompted to respond to this rather disturbing email by clicking a "Respond Now." button.

Doing so will take you to a website designed to look like eBay where you will be prompted to login using your eBay user name and password.

Once you pass this point you will be asked to update your account information before proceeding. Unknowing souls will offer not only their eBay password, but personal and credit card information, as well, without even knowing that they are about to have their personal information stolen.

The one thing that makes this scam so effective is the threat by the supposed eBay member to "report you to eBay."

The email preys on the fear of most eBay members that they are in danger of receiving negative feedback. Many eBayers would rather you cut off a pinky than leave them negative feedback. It is this emotion that the new phishers are hoping to hook.

The phisher is betting that most people will either be horrified by the threat of being wrongly reported to eBay or they will be ticked off that some jerk is threatening them by mistake.

Either way the phisher is counting on a percentage of people to have a knee-jerk reaction and login to the fake eBay website he has set up clear matters up.

I've yet to see what percentage of people who receive these phishing emails fall for the scam, but if a phisher gets 1_f recipients to turn over their personal information, he will probably consider his phishing expedition a success.

I've warned you about these phishing scams before, but let's review it one more time.

NEVER reply directly to an email that appears to have come from eBay, Paypal, Amazon, or anyoen else asking you to click a link in the email to update your account information. If there is any doubt in your mind whether or not the email is really from eBay, for example, open a browser and type in the URL http://www.ebay.com. NEVER click a link within the email to respond.

NEVER believe that an email supposedly from another eBay member is for real. Again, do not click an email link to reply. Open a browser and go to eBay directly and log in. If the email was from a real member, there will be a record of the inquiry in your My eBay account.

You must be aware that there are bad guys out there who do nothing but spend time trying to come up with new and innovative ways to steal your information.

Be paranoid. Be aware. But don't be fooled.

The phishers will cast their line, but you do not have to take the bait.

Here's to your success!

About the author:
Tim Knox serves as the president and CEO of three successful technology companies and is the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneurs. http://www.prosperityandprofits.com - http://www.dropshipwholesale.net - http://www.30dayblueprint.com
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How To Avoid Getting Scammed

Listed below are some of the most popular and common scams:

1. Nigerian Letter Scam:
This one's been around for many years but continues to flourish. Many of these e-mails claim to be from a person in Africa, usually Nigeria. The writer claims to have access to millions of dollars, either from a relative or from knowledge of an idle account. A percentage of this money is promised to the victim if they will allow the money to be processed through their personal bank account. The victim is instructed to keep their share and send the remaining money to the scammer.

The check given to the victims is fraudulent. The victim is then liable to the bank for the check they wrote to the scammer.

Here's what will happen when you give strangers your bank account information: They will take your money. Period.

2. Phishing Scams:
"Phishing" is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number,
passwords, or other sensitive information.

Phishers send an e-mail or pop-up message that claims to be from a business or organization that you deal with--for example, your Internet service provider (ISP), bank, online payment service, or even a government agency. The message usually says that you need to "update" or "validate" your account information.

Recent phishing victims include Yahoo, Citibank, eBay, Best Buy and Bank of America among others.

If you get spam that is phishing for information, forward it to spam@uce.gov.

3. Chain Letters:
In this classic scam, you're asked to send a small amount of money (usually $5.00) to each of several names on a list, and then forward the letter including your name at the top of the list, via bulk e-mail. Many of these letters claim to be legal. They even include a section of the U.S. Postal Code on illegal schemes. Don't be fooled. They are not legal. And if you participate, not only will you be breaking the law, you'll lose your money as well.

4. Work-At-Home And Business Opportunity Scams:
These scams tempt victims with ads stating "no experience necessary," promise high earnings and claim to have inside information. The scammers usually require victims to pay anywhere from $35 to several hundred dollars or more for information, kits or materials that do not provide the promised results.

Frequently, these schemes involve making handicrafts, stuffing envelopes, medical billing, or state, "Use your home PC to make money fast in your spare time!"

In the craft making or envelope stuffing scam, after paying fees and completing the assembly of the products, victims are told their work is low quality and unworthy of compensation.

Medical billing scams require victims to purchase supplies and lists of doctors who, inevitably don't exist or are not interested in the service.

5. Bulk E-mail Scams:
These solicitations offer to sell you bulk e-mail addresses (spam software) or services to send spam on your behalf. Example: "Reach 100 million websites, $39.95"! The software is usually of poor quality. It's spam and a scam. Don't do it.

6. Auction and retail scams:
These schemes typically offer high-value items, such as Cartier watches, Beanie Babies and computers, in hopes of attracting many consumers. What happens is the victim wins the bid, sends the money and receives nothing or receives products of much lower quality than advertised.

7. Guaranteed Loans or Credit Scams:
This scam comes in a variety of flavors: home equity loans that don't require equity in your home, personal loans regardless of credit history, etc. After you pay the application fees, you receive a letter saying that your loan request was denied. Usually, you never here from these companies again.

8. Credit Repair Scams:
These scams promise to erase accurate, negative information from your credit file so that you can qualify for loans, mortgages, unsecured credit cards, etc. It doesn't work. Not only that. If you follow their advice and lie on loan or credit applications, misrepresent your social security number, or get an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses, you will be committing fraud and violating federal laws. Another variation of this scam is the promise of a brand new credit file. Don't do it.

9. Vacation, Sweepstakes And Prize Award Scams:
In these scams you receive notification congratulating you because you've won a fabulous vacation, a car or some other prize award. All you have to do to collect your prize is pay a small fee (usually several hundred dollars). In return, what you end up getting is a toy car, (I kid you not) or a vacation certificate to the Bahamas or some other exotic vacation spot. It's really a lousy deal. You have to pay for your own airfare, and the accommodations that they arrange are usually in rundown hotels. Let the buyer beware!

10. Employment Scams:
Employment scammers take advantage of job seekers. They claim to offer employment services, inside information or inside contacts to jobs. After paying a fee, victims learn they only provide advice, help writing a resume--or less. Some fraudulent employment services simply sell lists of companies that they have gotten from public directories. They usually have not contacted those companies directly or know if there really are any job openings.

11. Multi-level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing Scams:
I know I'm going to ruffle a few feathers with this one, so let me just say right now that all MLM or network marketing companies are not scams. Obviously, there are some good, reputable companies out there. However, there are so many bad ones that I'm compelled to include the entire industry on this list. Before getting involved with any MLM or network marketing company, investigate, investigate and then investigate some more. Don't get caught up in the hype. And here's a fact no MLM or network marketing company will ever tell you--not even the legitimate ones: Unless you have outstanding sales ability and/or people skills, it is extremely difficult to make any money in MLM or network marketing.

Here are some other things you should watch out for: Make sure the website you’re visiting contains all three of the following:

1. A real persons name (not just a company or business name)

2. A telephone number

3. A street address (not just a P.O. Box)

If all three of the above are not present, walk away from the offer.

Before purchasing anything, you should always check first to see if the company has had any complaints lodged against it. The following websites publish complaints and/or scams:

http://www.scamwatch.com

http://www.worldwidescam.com

http://www.bbb.org

If you do get scammed, report it to the aforementioned websites immediately. You probably won’t be able to recover your money. Few people ever do. But at least by reporting the crime and making it public record, you make it harder for that company to scam anyone else.

In closing, always carefully investigate any business opportunity, and remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

About the author:
Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net
Visit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net
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Basic Rules of Scam Baiting

The goals of scam baiting carry the pleasure of baiters and their readers. To that end, a general status symbol among scam baiters is the collection or display of a photographic "trophy," a picture apparently taken of the scammer, typically while holding custom made signs, or in odd poses with exact props (such as placing a fish on one's head). Other trophies could include documents such as oaths and the pseudo legal documents, taken as the 419 scammer as a step forward towards a hopeless goal.

There are handfuls on common sense basic rules, which a scam baiter should follow:

1. The first rules is to have a good anti-virus software running on your system all the time and do keep the virus definitions ready. This is must for any computer which has internet connection but it is most significant for the scam baiting.

2. Make sure you don’t believe in anything, which a scammer tells you until you know it is true. In case scammer tells you “here is my photo” you could argue it isn’t. If on Monday the scammer tells you its Monday, check the calendar. It’s possibly Tuesday.

3. Next you should make sure that you do not give any real personal information to the scammer. This needs to be very obvious. Any actual personal information carries your real name, real address, place of work, real bank account number, and personal e-mail address and so on.

4. Remember you should never go to meet any scammer in person, regardless of their location given. As most scammers are just nothing more than pretty cheat artists, there had been many cases of muggings, kidnappings and also murder of people who had gone to meet with 419 scammers. Please do not do it.

5. And the most important rule is, you should never involve directly any innocent third parties in your scam bait. No matter how much you may hate you boss or your ex-spouse, don’t take revenge through this. You should not take on the identity of any real person existing or do not send a scammer to meet with any real person.

About the Author:
Dany Siraz is an expert in analyzing and describing the spam’s that are making the people to fall as prey without awareness, especially the Nigerian 419 scams. He had published many articles about describing the way of spam producers to fraud the people especially through e-mails, and had advised the best ways and tips to escape from these spam frauds. For further more details of Nigerian 419 scam visit to http://www.nigerianspam.com/
Posted: 13-12-2006
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com

What Is Spam? How To Identify And Block It?

Almost everyone who used to communicate via e-mail has ever found in the Inbox the messages from people he doesn’t know proposing some services or products. All unsolicited and undesired messages you receive are SPAM. The emails of this kind usually offer pharmaceutical products, diet methods, sexual enhancements aid, and “get rich quick” plans. You can also meet bogus sales pitches, sales opportunities, and different types of scams. In addition to stock scams, in which spammers encourage you to invest money, a new spam-scam gambit called phishing is becoming very popular now. This scam is aimed to obtaining people’s private information such as user name, password, credit card details, etc. An example is an email coming from PayPal or Ebay asking you to go to the company’s web site and update your account. If you do it, the spammers will record your keystrokes and your private details will be disclosed to them. And have you ever received pitiful letters from a widow or a relative of the former ruler of Nigeria? Sure you have. It’s a famous Nigerian fraud that is still having a place on the Internet. Don’t be enticed by the millions they would promise you. All they want is your bank account details in order to rob you.

How do you identify spam among legitimate messages? You usually look at the sender’s name, which may be unknown to you or contain some gibberish. You also read the subject line of the message. As a rule the subject line of spam emails concerns gambling, pornography, or an offer to make a fortune in 24 hours. But the spammers are also able to create an email identical to legitimate one coming from a respected source. In other cases, the subject lines may indicate that the message is a reply to your email. A general way to distinguish spam is to read the To and From header fields in all the messages you receive. If you see strange, anonymous or scrambled alpha-numeric email addresses (for example, gt4590xx@domain.com) then you have spam. Some anti-spam solutions provide you with the capability to preview the emails. For example, in addition to a safe message content preview, G-Lock SpamCombat allows you analyze the message header in detail: From, To, Subject, Received and other header fields.

How to block spam? Remember, the point of spam is to have you open the email. Once you do it, the least trouble you may have is to let the spammer know that your email address is valid. It’s luck for a spammer. He can continue spamming you in the hope that earlier or later you will swallow the bait. Or, he can sell your email address to someone else. Also, be aware that spammers send millions emails at a time, so even a very tiny response rate is a great success for them. Let’s imagine that 100 out of 10 millions people invested 5 dollars each into a scam offered by a spammer. So, the spammer makes 500 dollars at a time.

If you are really suffering from a continuous spam flow, you can consider getting a new email address and disclose it to trusted senders only. Or, you can start clearing your inbox from spam right away using anti-spam software. Although not perfect, anti-spam filters are now very sophisticated and very effective at cutting out most of spam.

Anti-spam programs basically do one or more of the following things:

1. Check the senders’ email addresses and names against a blacklist of spammers they own and delete the message if the sender is on the blacklist.

2. Check the recipients’ email addresses and names and filter the messages according to certain parameters. For example, if the email is sent to a large group of recipients sorted alphabetically, the email is considered spam.

3. Analyze the message content and subject line and search for certain words or phrases, which are typically met in spam emails such as “Viagra”, “Cialis”, “Mortgage”, “Invest” and filter the spam email accordingly.

There are many kinds of anti spam solutions now. Software developers offer standalone spam blockers like Mail Washer, Spam Nullifier, G-Lock SpamCombat, etc. Most of the big, free email services such as Yahoo!, Google, MSN, and Hotmail also provide effective spam filtering. You just need to choose the right anti-spam solution that will serve you in the most effective way.

About the Author:
Julia Gulevich is a technical expert associated with development of computer software like AATools, Advanced Email Verifier, G-Lock EasyMail, Junk Email Filter http://www.glocksoft.com/sc/ More information can be found at Anti-Spam Software Resources http://www.glocksoft.net/sc/.
This article was posted on November 21, 2006
Article Source: articlecity

Phishing For Your Identity

Phishing (pronounced as fishing) is defined as the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have an established, legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal your identity.

Who hasn't received an email directing them to visit a familiar website where they are being asked to update their personal information? The website needs you to verify or update your passwords, credit card numbers, social security number, or even your bank account number. You recognize the business name as one that you've conducted business with in the past. So, you click on the convenient take me there link and proceed to provide all the information they have requested.

Unfortunately, you find out much later that the website is bogus. It was created with the sole intent to steal your personal information. You, my friend, have just been phished.

Phishing (pronounced as fishing) is defined as the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have an established, legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal your identity.

It is not at easy as you think to spot an email phishing for information. At first glance, the email may look like it is from a legitimate company. The "From" field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail. The clickable link even appears to take you to the company's website, when in fact, it is a fake website built to replicate the legitimate site.

Many of these people are professional criminals. They have spent a lot of time in creating emails that look authentic. Users need to review all emails requesting personal information carefully. When reviewing your email remember that the "From Field" can be easily changed by the sender. While it may look like it is coming from a .com you do business with, looks can be deceiving.

Also keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails. Finally, they like to include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information.

A great way to check the legitimacy of the link is to point at the link with your mouse. Then, look in the bottom left hand screen of your computer. The actual website address to which you are being directed will show up for you to view. It is a very quick and easy way to check if you are being directed to a legitimate site.

Finally, follow the golden rule. Never, ever, click the links within the text of the e-mail, and always delete the e-mail immediately. Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well. If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. At least then you can be confident that you are, in fact, being directed to the true and legitimate website.

About the Author:
Gaetane Ross has thoroughly researched the internet to locate the best High Income Business Opportunities that will enable you to start making money from your own home. http://4instant-online-business.com http://affiliates.4instant-online-business.com http://4instant-online-business.com/pips.html
Submitted on 2007-02-08
Article Source: http://www.articlesarea.com/

How To Tighten Up Your Email Security

These days email is a necessary part of communication. However, this also means that email is one of the most popular ways for a virus to infect your computer. You need to protect yourself from the threat of fraud and infection.

Viruses

Email attachments often contain viruses so you need to be careful whenever you open any type of attachment even if you know the sender. There are some viruses that can infiltrate your address book and then send email that is infected to everyone on your list. This means that you can get a virus from a colleague or a friend. The best thing to do is to communicate with the sender so that you know you are expecting an attachment.

Software for virus protection is your best bet against viruses. This software will scan all your email attachments when they are received on your computer. All computers that have Internet access will need to have antivirus software so that all systems are protected as one big whole. There are some viruses that will start with one computer system and then spread to the rest of the network, eventually encompassing all the hardware that is needed to access the Internet.

Phishing

Email can lead to fraud, which is yet another type of security risk. Phishing, is one type of fraud that will try to trick you into giving out personal passwords or banking information. This type of email will use the logo from a well known banking institution or online business after which they will ask you to update your banking information or your password.

Phishing provides a link that looks as though it is legitimate but that in fact will lead you to a false website. If you provide them with personal information you become a victim of theft or fraud on your credit card. This is also known as "identity theft".

Email content and subject lines can be your clue to phishing. Instead of using your name the subject line might say something like "To our valued customer". It isn't hard to find some variant for personal names so be on the alert.

Less of clue to phishing is when a link is included that has nothing to do with the text in the email. You can verify this by highlighting the link and paying attention to the status bar. For example, if the email text is something about Microsoft, and the URL is www.nowhereland.com, you have a good clue that the message you've received isn't really from Microsoft.

There is software that can detect whether phishing is occurring. Even though this software isn't fully mature yet it can at least identify if an email is fraud. Whenever you are asked for your credit card number or a password you should be suspicious. Always keep in mind that no legitimate banking institution will ask you to give personal information or to verify any passwords in the content of an email.

E-mail Backups

Your email, just like other data on your computer, should always be backed up. Most email programs will be easy to back up. All you need to do is export your email messages to a selected folder and then do a backup on this folder. You can use a backup program and put your email onto a writeable CD, DVD, removable disk, or any other type of media.

You also have the option of buying backup software that is specialized for backing up email. This software is moderately priced and eliminates the need to export your email to a folder.

You can automate most backup software so that backups happen at a time that is convenient without you having to lend a hand. You'll have to find time in your busy schedule to configure this type of software. However, you'll be no more busy doing the configuring as you would be if you need to replace an email that you needed.

About the Author:
Paul Wilcox writes about internet security and other related topics. Sign up for my free newsletter and receive my special report "How To Lock Your Computer Down - Internet Security in 2006" at www.internetsecuritysquad.com/freereport
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Spam Scams: How Not To Become A Victim

All spam emails we receive every day in tens or hundreds are annoying and disgusting. But the worst of them are scams, hoaxes, and illegal schemes aimed at defrauding you of your money, private information, and even your life. Being aware of how the spam scams work you will be able to protect yourself against the spammers-fraudsters and not to become a victim of their fraudulent schemes.

A lot of spam scams arrive in the form of a great investment offer. It usually works as a Pyramid scheme. Spammers ask you to pay money for a membership, goods, or simply to "invest" promising you much money as revenue. Your revenue will come from those people who will invest after you. Your investment is distributed to those who joined before you. At some point the pyramid ruins because there are not enough new investors to keep the money flowing. The spammer is at the top of the pyramid and he is the only one who benefits. The scan may not always look like an investment offer. The spammers can ask you to distribute some advertising letters to a list of email addresses, for remuneration. Although they will tell you that the list contains only opt-in email addresses, it’s not true, and you will be sending spam directly from your computer.

Another fraudulent scheme you may meet looks like a letter coming from a company that you do business with. Usually the spammer asks you to follow a link within the message supposedly to update your account. But actually this is done to worm you out your personal and financial information. If you click on that link, you will be brought to a page that will look like a company’s web site. While you are logging in or filling the form in, the program is recording your keystrokes and all your private information – account number, user name, password, social security number – is disclosed. Never click on the links included in such emails. Just open a company’s web site in a separate window and check your account details out.

Nigerian spam is one of the most dangerous email scams. The mechanism of the scam is simple. The spammer sends you a badly spelled letter on behalf of a government official, deposed ruler, or relative of a ruling family asking you for help. They have some goods, money, or jewels that they cannot access due to political reasons. They ask you to allow them transfer large sums of money into your bank account. They promise to remunerate you for your kindness, or even leave all money to you. Attractive offer, isn’t it? Don’t be a dolt, don’t believe them. They tempt you into a trap. Their object is to obtain your account number and bank transfer information. They also may ask you to send them a fee to bribe some corrupt government officials. Further you may receive additional officially looking letters where you will be asked to provide further documents, private information, and money. When they have “played” with you long enough, or believe that you may suspect to be led on, they will rob you and quite.

Take care! Don’t react upon any spam message whatever tempting offer it contains. Delete it at once, or let an anti-spam filter delete all spam before you download it into your inbox.

About the Author:
Julia Gulevich is a technical expert associated with development of computer software like AATools, Advanced Email Verifier, G-Lock EasyMail, Spam and Junk Email Filter http://www.glocksoft.com/sc/ More information can be found at Anti Spam Filter Resources http://www.glocksoft.net/sc/.
This article was posted on November 27, 2006
Article Source: articlecity

How To Recognize And Prevent Pfishing Scams

The warning notice you get from your bank over the internet may be a fraud. It is a scam intended to make you give up secure financial information. This article will show you how to recognize and deal with these frauds.

Have you ever received e-mail messages that threaten to close your PayPal or Ebay account unless you send them information? It's a scam called "phishing." It is pronounced "fishing." It means what it says. Internet scam artists are fishing for information. It comes from Internet fraudsters who send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal information from you. Their objective is to extract sensitive information from unsuspecting victims.

The Federal Trade Commission(FTC) warns you that when phishers send you a fraudulent e-email, they want you to update, validate,or confirm your bank, credit card, or PayPal account, including passwords. Some phishing e-mails threaten to terminate your account if you don't respond. The messages direct you to a website that looks just like a legitimate organization's site. However, it isn't. It's a bogus site whose sole purpose is to trick you into divulging your personal information so the operators can steal your identity and run up bills or commit crimes in your name.

The FTC suggests these tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam:

If you get an e-mail message that asks for your personal or financial information, DO NOT REPLY. Do not click on the link in the message. Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via e-mail. If you are concerned about your account, contact your bank or credit card company using a telephone number you know that is genuine.

All the scam merchant needs is for you to access his/her website. Then, you are hooked. To avoid an inadvertent mistake, stay off the internet until you have established contact with your financial institution.

Use anti-virus software and a firewall. Keep them up to date. Some phishing e-mails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge.

Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones that can effectively reverse the damage and that updates your files automatically.

A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet. It blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It is especially important to use a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Operating systems like Windows also may offer free software updates to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.

Don't e-mail personal or financial information. E-mail is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and need to provide such information, look for indicators that the destination site is secure. Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof. Some phishers have forged security icons.

Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them. Check for unauthorized charges,address changes,and unexplained account balances.

Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computer's security.

After you are back on the internet, forward spam e-mail that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov. Also, forward the suspicious e-mail to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing e-mail. Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report problems.

If you believe you've been scammed, file your complaint to ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC's Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Victims of phishing can become victims of identity theft. While you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim of identity theft, you can take some steps to minimize your risk. If an identity thief is opening credit accounts in your name, these new accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. You may catch an incident early if you order a free copy of your credit report periodically from any of the three major credit bureaus.

You can learn other ways to avoid email scams and deal with deceptive spam at ftc.gov/spam

About the Author:
Bob Carper is a veteran information systems consultant specializing in verbal and written communication. He holds a BS and an MBA degree. He is an ardent railfan and belongs to the New York Central Historical Society. Visit http://www.secure-webconference.citymax.com
Submitted on 2007-02-07
Article Source: http://www.articlesarea.com/

Phishing – It’s Signs and Your Options

Phishing is the act of some individual sending an email to a user in an attempt to scam the user to release personal information. Is it easy to determine if it’s a scam? Sometimes – but not always. I hope to give you enough examples and information to help you to safeguard yourself from these unsavory individuals.

In addition, sometimes the email is sent to malicious software so as to render your computer helpless. Thus, it is important that you do not click on the link they provide, because that is the trigger that will load the software to your system.

EXAMPLES OF PHISHING

You receive hundreds of emails in your mailbox, but one email catches your eye – it directs you to a website, requesting that you need to update your personal information. It requests such personal information as:

passwords

credit card numbers

social security number

bank account numbers

“It appears to be legitimate”, you say to yourself. And you also notice that the emails are from companies that you have been doing business with for a while. Warning: The website could be bogus.

Here are several examples of phishing in action.

1. E-mails stating they are from E-bay and they feel that your account may have been compromised and would like you to verify your information with they so conveniently supply. DO NOT click on it.

2. E-mails from Paypal or your bank asking that you verify your information because they feel that your account has been compromised, or heaven forbid, suspended. Same scenario, different company. DO NOT click on the link.

3. E-mail that states that an unauthorized transaction has occurred on your account. Please click the link below and confirm your identity. DO NOT.

4. Here’s a work at home scam – We have seen your resume on Monster and feel you would fit our position. If you are interested, please go to our website, look over the experience required and submit your resume if you have this background. Website is professional looking, offer looks good – but it could be a scam.

WHAT ARE THEY AFTER

In the above examples they are after information about you, be it passwords, credit cards, social security numbers, anything that can identify you – and that which they can use to profit from you.

The job email is used to verify that the email address is a true blue, active email address. What do they do with this info – they sell these accounts to spammers for good money. They need to verify your email address—because if the spammers come up empty – this person’s business is dead.

HOW TO VERIFY SAFELY

1. If they want you to verify your account, do not cut and paste, or use the link they provide in the email. Close your Internet session, open a new session and enter the site that you have on record to verify.

2. Emails requesting resumes – Verify their account before you send your resume. When verifying – these red flags should be considered:

1) If they are hesitant to provide a phone number – might be a scam.

2) If their business address is not verifiable –might be a scam.

3) If the website is new – might be a scam.

4) If they use a large company’s name—and that company never heard of them – might be a scam.

5) Again, verify this information before you send your resume.

WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Here are some quick tips to protect you and your computer system.

1. Use anti-virus software and a firewall – keep them up to date.

2. If you have a broadband connection make sure you have a firewall in place.

3. Don’t email personal or financial information.

4. Before providing personal information – search to see if the site is secure – look for a lock icon. However, remember not all phishers are stupid – in fact, they could be computer savvy enough to forge security icons. Thus, look for a site whose link looks like this: https://www.somename.com -- this shows that it is a secure site.

5. Coupons from respected companies – Verify that it is a true-blue coupon from the company – I had one coupon sent to my email address from what I thought was Staples. Verified it with Staples – not a coupon honored by Staples. When on the Internet – if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it still may not be a duck!

6. When making transactions on the Internet – be it online banking, Paypal, Internet Gold, etc. – complete your transaction, log out of the website, and close out of your Internet Explorer—and then continue with a new session of Internet Explorer.

WHERE TO FORWARD SPAM THAT IS PHISHNG

If you encounter spam that is phishing, or are a victim of a phishing scam, you can forward the information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank or organization that the email may have stated they are from. In many cases, the other organizations have information on their website where you can report the attempted scam.

In addition, if you have been scammed, and you wish to file a complaint – go to ftc.gov.

To conclude, no one is immune to spam or a scam. But try to be ever vigilant and do your due diligence with anything you do on the Internet. But being human is a scammer’s hope – they know that most will ignore the bait, but some will be tempted. So, if you so humanly slip, and succumb to a phishing scam, you can report them to ftc.gov.

About the Author:
Vickie J Scanlon has a BBA degree in Administrative Management and Marketing. Visit her site at: www.myaffiliateplace.biz for free tools, articles, ebooks, how to info, affiliate opportunities, products and services – to meet your budget and needs.
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Scams, Spams, Viruses and Spyware - Protecting Yourself Online

On the Internet, there's so much to see and do. You can communicate, shop, play and learn. It's a veritable treasure trove of information and activities for just about anyone of any age. Unfortunately, just like in the real world, everything also has a downside. For the Internet, that downside includes, scams, spam, viruses and spyware. Basically, people who want to take advantage of you. This article will give you some basics for protecting yourself online.

Scams

One of the worst scams comes to you via email, in the form of "phishing" emails. They come to you in the form of an email from banks, eBay, a store, Paypal or other business or financial institution. The email will have the name of the company in the from area and the email may look real, complete with corporate logos and official sounding text. Don't be fooled, however. A reputable financial institution or business will never ask you for your username, password, account number or other sensitive personal information via email. NEVER click on the link to the site provided in their email. If you are unsure if the email is fake, then open up your browser and manually type in the URL of the company's website. Go there and login and see if they are requesting something from you there. Chances are, they aren't. You can report these emails or simply delete them.

Other scam emails may come to you from foreign countries asking you to hold a large sum of money for them, in return you get a percentage of the money, usually millions of dollars. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. This scam has been around for years, don't fall for it. It's just a way to get your bank account information and to empty it before you even realize what has happened.

Scam websites are also a problem, whether it's a fly by night store, a phony eBay seller or a store that's actually just trying to get you to give them your personal information for marketing purposes, you can easily avoid these by checking eBay feedback, store reviews via Google and the BBB and other consumer complaint websites.

The solution to scams? Be vigilant. Never click a URL in an email that looks the least bit suspicious. Always check the feedback, reviews and ratings of sellers before buying and never, ever give away your personal information to a website that looks suspicious.

Spam

Spam can be a huge problem if you have had your email address for any length of time. No matter how well you protect your email address by not giving it out to anyone you don't know, you're still going to get spam. You can, however, minimize the time you spend dealing with spam by adjusting the options in your ISP or web mail preferences section. For most web email addresses, like Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Hotmail, you can adjust or train the spam filters so that spam rarely makes it to your main inbox but instead ends up in your Bulk Mail or Junk Mail folder. For AOL users, they have a similar Spam Mail folder and email options which you can adjust to your liking. For stand alone email programs using POP email boxes, any good email program will have spam and junk mail filters as well as allow you to set rules for which mail is deleted, flagged or sent in to the Junk Mail folder according to preferences you set. If you still have a problem, you may consider a third party program like MailWasher at mailwasher.net or SingleFin from singlefin.net. Both programs are free and should help solve or minimize your spam problem.

Viruses

Viruses are a common problem if you spend any time online. That greeting card attachment your friend forwarded you contained more than a greeting card, you've now got a virus! Viruses can slow your computer down, slow down your web surfing or they can do more serious damage like relay sensitive information like your bank login information to a hacker or at the worst end, erase your entire hard drive! To prevent these problems, you should never open attachments unless it's been scanned by a virus program first, also don't download any files from suspicious websites, stick to the well known download sites instead, like download.com. To help keep your computer clean of viruses, download and install one of the many anti-virus programs available. Some good ones are AVG Free Anti-Virus, from grisoft.com and Avast Anti-Virus from avast.com. Both programs are free and will automatically check for new versions of their virus databases so you are protected from existing and new viruses.

Spyware

Spyware is also a common problem that can slow your computer down tremendously and run programs on your computer without you even knowing. Spyware can come from websites, even well known and reputable websites but usually spyware is contained in certain free programs, like games and software that is free due to banner ads or other advertising inside the program. Since spyware can slow down your computer, it's a good idea to download and install at least one program that will protect you from spyware. Two good ones are Spyware Doctor from pctools.com and Ad-Aware SE from lavasoft.de.

Once you have downloaded and installed your anti-virus and spyware protection software, be sure to schedule a full scan of your computer often, at least once a week or more to help keep your computer running fast and smooth.

About the Author:
Lydia Quinn writes for PaidSurvey24.com, a free and comprehensive paid survey directory list. Visit us at: http://www.paidsurvey24.com.
This article was posted on November 21, 2006
Article Source: articlecity

What You Must Know About Spam

What Is Spam?

Spam is about consent, not about content. It doesn’t matter what the message is about: porn, ads or lottery. Only if the message is bulk and was not solicited than you can condemn it as Spam.

When referring to emails, according to the NCES (National Centre for Education Statistic), “Spam refers to electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define Spam even more generally as any unsolicited e-mail. In addition to being a nuisance, Spam also eats up a lot of network bandwidth. Because the Internet is a public network, little can be done to prevent Spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail. However, the use of software filters in e-mail programs can be used to remove most Spam sent through e-mail.”

Some search engines use the term to describe websites that try to attain a high listing rank by submitting identical or mirror pages. In this article I am going to give you a few tips about email Spam.

If we give a too general definition to the word, we might end up taking for Spam perfectly legitimate emails. Not “any” unsolicited mail is Spam. Spam means unsolicited bulk email.

If a message is unsolicited that doesn’t make it Spam. The same goes for bulk. A message is Spam only if it is both unsolicited and bulk. When you receive an unsolicited job enquiry, you do receive an uncalled-for email. But is that Spam? No. What about a newsletter? That is bulk, but no Spam if you are a subscriber.

Why Do You Get Spam?

Have you posted your email address online in forums, chat rooms, on your website? Than why do you marvel? Spammers gather the addresses from the Internet; so no wonder your own found its way onto a spammer’s list. Besides, spammers use different other means to get what they want: viruses, Trojans, buying from other spammers.

Spam Scams

How many times have you received an “update your account” email from paypal, a bank or ebay? How many times have you received a “warning message”? Maybe it didn’t look suspicious to you as it came from an institution you work with, but was it really that way? This kind of emails is referred to as “phishing scam”. There is not much you can do when this happens. Just don’t click on any links in that email, don’t give away any confidential information such as social security number, bank account or credit card number. There are some free tools that can protect you against known phishing websites. For example download the free EarthLink toolbar and report the scam to the Anti-Phishing Working Group.

What about the emails from different Nigerian (or other nationalities) citizens offering you a percentage of a vast sum of money? Yes, you’ve got that right: scam. You’ll only loose your money on this one. Better don’t be curious. They will ask you to pay a fee in advance – a so called transfer tax, and guess what: some complications will appear, you have to pay more and more and end up with nothing. And don’t believe the “you won money” lottery sweepstakes either. You’ll only spend. The same goes for the Nigerian purchase scam: they want to buy something from you, pay by check and they wish the goods to be sent in Lagos, Nigeria.

A Major Don’t

Don’t reply to spammers… ever! Don’t send any “remove me” message. By doing so you confirm your address is active, you show you read bulk messages, you prove your ISP doesn’t use Spam filters. You are the perfect candidate. You will never be removed. On the contrary…

Spam Fighters

If Spam really bothers you and you want to fight against it, than you have plenty of possibilities. If you are an American, join Cauce at: http://www.cauce.org/. If not… check out Cauce’s international partners (example: EuroCAUCE for Italy, Spain, Germany, Holland, France, Norway).

Associations such as to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or other volunteers’ organizations are there to help protecting you against scam or other illegal emails (children pornography for example). Detailed information about Spam, Spammers and ways to fight against them you can find here: http://www.spamhaus.org/

About the Author:
Mihaela Lica is a skilled journalist and PR consultant, founder of Pamil Visions – http://www.pamil-visions.com/ Previously she used to work as a military TV redactor for Pro Patria and the Military Media Trust within the Public Relations Directorate of the Romanian Ministry of Defence.
Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Anti-Phishing Bill Introduced To Congress

Sen. Partick J. Leahy has introduced the Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 to Congress for consideration. The Act would allow federal prosecutors to seek fines of up to $250,000 and prison sentences of up to five years against individuals convicted for promoting phishing scams. Online parody and political speech sites would be excluded from prosecution.

"Phishing" is an online scam used to deceive computer users into giving up personal information such as social security numbers and passwords. Phishing scams usually involve email messages requesting the verification of personal information from a familiar business. Readers are provided a link that sends them to what appears to be the site of the company in question. The reader is then asked to verify their account information by providing their name, address, social security number, account number, etc.

In truth, the site is an illegal copy of the business in question and the reader's information is collected for later fraudulent use including identity theft. Consumers are estimated to lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year to phishing scams. Undoubtedly, you have received more than a few of these emails.

Phishing emails are most likely to use the sites of banks, credit card companies, and large retailers. Online companies such as Ebay, PayPal and Earthlink have had similar problems. One particularly aggressive group even scammed the site of the IRS.

In April 2004, the IRS warned consumers that scam artists were sending emails purportedly from the IRS. Consumers received emails claiming they were under investigation for tax fraud and subject to prosecution. The emails contained language telling recipients they could "help" the investigation by providing "real" information and directed them to a website that was derivative of the IRS site. Consumers were then asked to provide detailed personal information to dispute the charge. Since most people fear the IRS, one can assume that a large number of people took the phishing bait.

Commentary

The Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 is a nice start to combating scam artists that use phishing to pilfer money from consumers. The Act, however, will not put an end to deceptive phishing practices if it is passed. There reason involves jurisdictional issues.

A large percentage of the individuals promoting phishing scams reside outside of the United States. While they may take notice of the law, it will have no discernible effect on their fraudulent scams. Until there is an international response, phishing scams will continue to be a problem. Nonetheless, Senator Leahy should be commended for initiating efforts to deal with this growing problem.

About the Author:
Richard A. Chapo
Posted: 20-09-2005
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com

July Phishing Attacks Ravaged North America

trimMail Network Advisory: Email-based phishing attacks intercepted by trimMail Inboxes across North America are up a whopping 271% this month, while viruses have receded by 58%. Forty three percent of all phishing attacks are aimed at PayPal customers, while another 10% target eBay. In the same period, phishing attacks aimed at banks have dropped over 25%.

Currently, over half of the intercepted phishing attempts target two sisters: eBay and PayPal. Both persist in sending HTML-formatted messages. While HTML may provide a modicum of eye candy, it allows attackers to easily hide dangerous scripts and URLs behind otherwise innocuous appearing copy. That's why HTML formatting is ridiculously inappropriate for messaging by financial and other security-sensitive services.

However, as it is unlikely that giant e-mailers will change formatting tactics anytime soon, administrators would be wise to intercept the beasts lurking behind HTML at the network border, before they get a chance to clean out their users.

About the Author:
Brian J. Gillette
Posted: 20-09-2005
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com

When Hormel Takes The Fight Out of Spam

In the past few years Hormel Foods Corporation has been doing the legal rounds in preventing software companies from using the word "spam" in the branding of their junk email fighting products. An Associated Press (AP) article recently said Hormel was afraid this practice of software companies may dilute its brand name.

It is totally understandable that Hormel is merely protecting one of its most treasured brand names. They are afraid that the day may come when people will start wondering why they named their product after junk email. Maybe Hormel is just not giving people more credit. Or maybe they know something that experts in the information technology (IT) arena have known for a long time.

The topic of junk email prevention has fallen under the broader category of computer security these days. In fact some will say that email security is one of the IT manager's worst nightmares. Emails are a common venue of computer virus infection. Virus makers are coming up with newer and more sophisticated means of exploiting email as a way to defraud users. One of the causes of today's rash of identity thefts comes by way of email, more popularly known as phishing email scams.

Ask any IT manager what their take is as to why so many users become victims of computer viruses or online fraud. Their answer will invariably be along the lines of "user habits and reckless behavior". To reinforce this, a noted German network security expert said this past week in an IT conference held in Australia that it would take twenty to thirty years to educate people about computer security. It may sound exaggerated but it certainly reflects the frustration of an expert towards why users make it easy for attackers to compromise their computer systems. Actually it need not take so many years for people to learn but their very habits and behavior impede the learning process.

Consider why there is so much junk email floating around, many of which have probably found their way into your inbox. It is because of the user's habit of forwarding email to everyone in their address book just because a line in the body of the email tells them to do so. Consider why there are so many victims of email scams nowadays. Because when an official looking email arrives, say from their bank, telling them to update their account information and password, the user's impulsive behavior takes over and they go do as they are instructed. There is also this prevailing "it couldn't happen to me" mentality and that is precisely the kind of behavior that cyber criminals pounce on. The common denominator here is that the user has this habit of not going the extra mile in doing some sort of checking first.

Securing your personal computer will take only twenty to thirty minutes. There is no dearth of products around that will help in securing your computer. Notwithstanding some IT experts' criticism that some of today's security products are inadequate, they are still your best bet in preventing your computer being compromised. Leave the research to them to come up with better products.

So when Hormel Foods wants to dissociate their Spam brand name from junk email prevention software, they probably know that given the average computer user's lack of regard for computer security, the day may actually come that these same users will think they named their product after junk email. After all, the Spam brand name has been around for almost seventy years and it would not be that successful if Hormel Foods did not know a thing or two about consumer habits and behavior.

About The Author:
F. Aldo
Webmaster of Virus Protection For Beginners and just happy to be of help! Come and share your computer security articles with us.
Article Submitted On: October 13, 2006
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Securing Your Email In An Insecure World

Computers have simplified millions of people's lives. With the advent of online technology we can be more productive in the office, organize household matters, and communicate with others around the globe. Do you ever think it's all too good to be true? Well, you'd be smart to question the overall ease and efficiency of the web. The sad truth is, along with these perks there are a few major pitfalls. And if you aren't aware of them now, you may be in for a rude awakening.

So many people get excited about the wide-reaching possibilities of an email system. Indeed, it is staggering to think about how you can connect with someone on the other side of the world with just a click of a button. Unfortunately, however, sometimes by clicking the mouse you are doing more than reaching out to a faraway friend. You may also be inviting email viruses and scams into your mailbox.

What is spam anyway?

Email spam is also called unsolicited bulk email - like junk mail in your computer system. In other words, it is email that you have not asked to receive. When we say "bulk email," we are usually referring to one message that is sent to more than 200 email recipients at a time.

How is spam targeted?

Basically, if you participate in any newsgroups, forums, or post your email address on a personal or professional website, you can be targeted for spam. A spam mailing list will be created by combing electronic newsgroups and mailing lists, or by conducting a broad address search online via "spambots" that roam the net collecting email addresses.

What is phishing?

Phishing is a relatively new form of email scam and it's a serious one. What it refers to is an email that claims to be from a legit corporation (like Citibank, PayPal, eBay etc.), but it is really a spoof. Phishing can be tough to spot because it can look pretty slick. The email will come with a return address, a logo or a brand that seems on the up-and-up, links to other sites etc. But whoever is behind the scam is trying to get your financial info and rip off your identity. Studies show that 5% of the people who receive these fake emails respond to the "phisher."

Now that you know what these terms mean, how can you avoid dealing with them?

Clearly, the answer is with an expert email security system. No doubt, new scams will be popping up before you know it. We haven't even discussed the horrors of email "worms" and "viruses."

What can be done?

-Use a web host with a secure email system that will control spam, maintain your privacy, and protect you from email viruses. A good web host believes that all individuals have the right to send and receive secure emails around the clock.

-The first step is to monitor the spam that comes into your email mailbox and then report any scams to the Anti-Spam League or the Anti-Phishing Working Group.

-Be wary of any emails that ask you for your personal information, especially financial details. Do not give out your credit card or bank account info unless you are on a secure server.

-Be wary of email attachments. When in doubt, don't open them!

-Make a point of checking your account balances online to see if there are any sudden withdrawals that you did not authorize.

-Use anti-virus software and be sure to update it regularly (such as Microsoft patches).

-Think about installing a web browser tool bar that will alert you if a known spammer or phisher is trying to reach you (such as Earthlink ScamBlocker or eBay's tool bar).

About the Author:
Madison Lockwood is a customer relations associate, specializing in small business development, for Apollo Hosting. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, vps hosting, and web design services to a wide range of customers.
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com

Spam If You Want Jail Time

Spam is more than just an annoying, time-wasting nuisance that decreases business productivity, fills up server space and clogs bandwidth. It also includes attempted fraud on a grand scale via "phishing" emails, false requests purportedly from companies such as Ebay or Paypal, asking for credit card information.

Almost all email users worldwide receive spam, and despite all attempts to defeat it, this marketing method seems to be increasing. According to a study by IDC, in 2004 38% of the 31 billion emails sent every day in North America were spam, up from 24% in 2002. In August 2004, MessageLabs found that 84.2% of all emails scanned were spam. In a weeklong study conducted by the University of Texas, 56.2% of messages filtered through Brightmail were flagged as spam.

Because of the continual "arms race" between spammers and spam-blocker designers, no anti-spam software will catch every piece of junk email. Spammers continually discover new methods to evade anti-spam software, which often removes mail based on suggestive keywords. Emails are sent under official-sounding titles such as "server account information" which many internet users will open, only to be faced with lurid, deliberately misspelled advertisements offering miraculous remedies to enlarge one's private parts. To avoid giving away their physical location, spammers often hijack legitimate servers and use them to emit a barrage of junk email. Spammers also falsify sender and reply addresses as well as randomize the content of their email to increase uniqueness; approximately 85% of spam currently being received is unique.

Initially, internet users put up with the growing barrage of junk email, but finally legislation has been introduced to stop this waste of computer users' time.

In January 2004 Federal Can-Spam Act was passed for the purpose of “controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing” and the Wireless Telephone Spam Protection Act. The Can-Spam Act specifies that unsolicited commercial emails must be labeled and include opt-out instructions as well as the sender's physical address. It bans the use of deceptive subject lines and false headers. The Wireless Telephone Spam protection Act bans the use of wireless messaging systems to send unsolicited advertisements.

The nation's first anti-spam prosecution occurred in April 2004, when Daniel J. Lin made a plea bargain deal to serve a minimum of two years in prison. Lin was charged along with three others for illegally using well-known company and government computers, including those of Amoco, Ford Motors., Unisys, the U.S. Army Information Center and the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, to send junk e-mail that appeared to be legitimate. In March 2005, the FTC settled civil charges against Lin and the three accomplices, along with their company, Phoenix Avatar LLC. The defendants agreed to pay a $20,000 civil penalty.

Another notable prosecution under the Can-Spam Act occurred in November 2004 when a brother and sister who sent junk e-mail to millions of America Online customers were convicted. Jurors found Jeremy Jaynes, 30, and Jessica DeGroot, 28, guilty of three counts each of sending e-mails with fraudulent and untraceable routing information. This team of rogue internet marketers peddled useless products such as a "FedEx refund processor", a work-at-home scheme hat supposedly allowed people to earn $75 an hour. In one month alone, they received 10,000 credit card orders for the processor, each for $39.95. They amassed a net wealth of $24 million peddling worthless products like the refund processor and other products like a "penny stock picker" and an Internet history eraser. The jury recommended a nine-year jail sentence for Jaynes and a $7,500 fine for DeGroot. This case is still under appeal.

By the beginning of 2006, than 30 cases had been brought under the CAN-SPAM act by state and federal law enforcement, along with 20 enforcement actions by the FTC.

In addition to the Can-Spam Act, the Computer Owners’ Bill of Rights is being proposed by the FTC, which would create a “do-not-email” registry of addresses, similar to the "do not call" list affecting telemarketers, of internet users not wishing to receive unsolicitated commercial email messages. Another proposal is to force advertisers add “ADV” in the title of any commercial email. Probably a better idea would be to fine the companies that employ spammers, as they are easily located by the content of the email. a practice already being used in Australia. ISPs could also start terminating accounts of websites that are advertised via spam.

About the Author:
J Schipper
J Schipper loves Spam Blockers Accounting Software Business Software Disk Recovery
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com

Spam Is Now Dead Meat.

Other than the canned meat sold by Hormel, the term spam is used to describe unsolicited bulk email. It is rumored that the term Spam came from an old Monty Python comedy sketch about a restaurant where every item on the menu came with an order of Spam. Certainly this is an accurate comparison due to the ubiquitous nature of junk email, which first started to appear in bulk in the early 1990s. The usual definition of spam is email that is unsolicited, without prior permission or business relationship, transmitted in mass mailings and containing commercial content.

As the Internet became used increasingly in homes and businesses, marketers did their best to promote their wares through this new medium. Email, unlike postal mail that requires a separate postage charge, can be sent out in bulk just as cheaply as it can be sent to one person. Therefor, bulk email became an irresistible way to advertise for Internet-based marketers. Their only difficulty was to find valid email addresses for recipients.

Bulk marketers began to compile lists of known email addresses and sell them to other advertisers. Consumers often sign up on mailing lists to be notified of sales or product promotions, even from companies the openly pass their clients' email addresses on to other companies. Spammers get email addresses off publicly available web sites and user groups. Spammers have even been known to hack into businesses' customer databases to harvest even more addresses for their lists.

It did not matter if some of the addresses had expired; if an address is not valid, email is simply not delivered. Millions of simultaneous email messages could be sent out at little or no cost to the marketer, so customer targeting was no longer necessary. Spam was lucrative for marketers, as any response rate at all would bring in profit from this essentially free advertising.

Much of the spam advertised goods and services of dubious quality, such as pornography, get-rich-quick schemes, multilevel marketing, stock promotions, quack health remedies, and of course the services of internet marketers offering to send out even more spam on behalf of the email account holder.

Internet users, however, were less pleased with spam than were internet merchants. Many consumers resented receiving advertisements through what is to be considered a personal electronic mailbox. Finding legitimate emails became a time consuming process of sifting through hundreds of unwanted messages. Furthermore, some of the spam contained viruses. Constant flow of spam used up bandwidth and filled up server space. Parents objected to pornographic pictures being sent to family websites which were accessed by children.

Spam is costly to the business world. It takes up bandwidth and server storage space. Legitimate email may be lost, inboxes fill up and staff spend office time deleting unwanted email. A study published in May 2004 by Radicati Group shows that large businesses (with approximately 10,000 employees) which do not use spam filters lose $2,923.20 per user per year or a total of $30 million annually in terms of email productivity. As Bill Gates said, "The torrent of unwanted, unsolicited, often offensive and sometimes fraudulent email is eroding trust in technology, costing business billions of dollars a year, and decreasing our collective ability to realize technology’s full potential.”

Aside from being an annoying, time-wasting nuisance, spam also includes "phishing" emails, false requests purportedly from companies such as Ebay or Paypal, asking for credit card information.

The total savings for businesses which do install anti-spam filters is approximately $19.9 million per year. (Claburn, 2004). Filtering software looks for tell-tale signs such as an invalid or spoofed "From" address, invalid host name in the “From” or “To” address, similarity to previous emails, direct SMTP transmission from a host without a fixed IP address, receipt of the email from an unrestricted mail server, an IP address, netblock or domain matching that of a known spammer or “spamhaus”, and unique headers created by spamming software.

No matter what kind of anti-spam system you employ in your home or office, from the most basic to the most thorough, it's bound to save you time and money.

About the Author:
J Schipper loves Spam Blockers Accounting Software Business Software Disk Recovery
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com

Spam Filter - Bayesian Filter To Fight Back Spammers

The most prolific and path breaking innovation of last century had been the developments in the communication field. It literally changed the business working, product marketing, support services and most importantly, the advertisement campaigns.

But just like all goods things comes with a price, so was the communication. It brought in the problems of Spam Emails. Automated mailers with mass mailing capabilities, growing marketing dependencies on this tool have seen the large losses in terms of time and money.

There have been many ways of targeting spam mails like blacklisted domains, banned IPs, words in subject and many more. The spammers have always found out a way to change their identity. But here is the catch. The spammers are being paid to send the message. They can change their Domains, IPs, subject lines, but how much they can play with the contents? And that’s where content based filtering comes into focus. Now we can understand that by targeting and focusing on message body, there is a better chance of filtering spam emails.

Apart from the usual spam emails, the new menace has been created by the "phishing emails" targeting primarily eBay and PayPal accounts. These emails come as a "Last Warning", "Attention Required", "Password Change Required" or "Your account is suspended" among many more. These mails appear to have come from eBay or PayPal and provide a link to their own page.

These pages are designed just like the original pages and the unsuspecting user ends up providing his/her sensitive information like username/password or Credit Card Information to these duplicate pages. Here I would like to add one piece of advice to all users that you should always see where the link is taking you by seeing the tool tip and then if sure, follow the link.

The role of content in marking the mail spam or not spam has been achieved using the Bayesian filter. Together with the Black List of spammers and White list of trusted emails ids, is the best technique to counter the spam. The most interesting fact is that Spam Filter with Bayesian algorithm is a self learning filter. The more you use, the more secure you shall be within a matter of few days.

The spam filter integrate easily with popular emails clients such MS outlook and Outlook Express. With due course, up to 98% of the spam mails can be stopped from entering your Inbox. The Spam Filter for Outlook Express and Spam Filter for Microsoft Outlook, with the features of White List/Black List and properly used Bayesian Algorithm will help prevent spam mails, phishing mails and fraud mails from bothering you further.

There has been a considerable increase in the spam mails containing Non English Characters also. The Bayesian Algorithm based Spam Filter also must have the capability to parse non English characters and mark as spam mail.

To get rid of continuous spam mails, phishing mails, fraud mails and Non-English mails, you might like to try Official Spam Filter for Outlook Express 1.2 and Official Spam Filter for Microsoft Outlook 1.2. Official Spam Filter has the capability to seamlessly integrate with MS Outlook and Outlook Express and provide following features:

•Bayesian Algorithm for Anti Spam Filtering

•Auto Learning Bayesian Filter to challenge Spam Emails

•White List of Trusted Email Address

•Custom Black List

•Individual Marking of Spam/Not Spam Emails

•Optional feature to block Non-English Emails

•Complete Mail Header Information

For more information, visit http://www.officialspamfilter.com/spam_filter_features.htm

About the Author:
Micky Sing
Author is the Admin of Official Spam Filter where you can find software to fight Spam, integrating with MS Outlook and Outlook Express.
Article Source: NewFREEArticles.com

How Spam Is Burning A Hole In Your Pocket

The odds are that you will receive at least 15 messages today in your e-mail that are spam. If you are one of the unlucky ones that number could soar to as high as 100. We are being drowned in a world of junk email otherwise known as spam. Our once pristine, organized e-mail box has run amok with messages promising everything from “Get Rich Quick!” to more devious forms of spam such as “Your order has been placed with us…”. We will spend an average of at least 5 seconds per e-mail dealing with spam, which in a years time can add up to over 7 hours of lost time – almost an entire working day. So how do we deal with the onslaught of spam and more importantly how can we protect ourselves and our family from getting tricked by those seeking to profit or steal our personal information by flooding our inboxes?

Unfortunately, there really is no simple solution to the spam problem. Internet service providers such as Earthlink, AOL and others spend millions of dollars each year trying to protect their subscribers mailboxes from spammers and phishers (a term used to refer to a particular form of spam email wherein the sender is trying to trick you into releasing personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords, etc). It can be hard to classify what is spam and what isn’t thanks to the clever ways most spammers operate. Subject lines that make you think the email is legitimate by including your first name or phrases such as “Important Information about Your Account”. When you see a title such as that you believe it is something important and you need to read it, only to find out it is another piece of spam once you open the email message.

So how does spam cost you money? There are two actual ways by which spam can cost you: through actual money lost and through the value of your time. The later, while annoying, has no long-term effects. However, when you are talking about losing real money you can find that the effects of such scams can be long lasting and costly. It’s hard to believe that spam e-mail could cost you money, but every year people are getting taken for large sums of money through trickery used by spammers and phishers.

A typical phisher email may come across as with a title something like this “Important information about your Citibank account”. You see a message such as this, and you happen to have a Citibank credit card account. You open it up and it looks legitimate. The message says simply that they need to confirm some information on your account for security purposes and asks you to login to the website by clicking on a link. The link directs you to a site that looks like Citibank, but in reality is a scam look-alike page setup by the phisher. You enter your account information and password and get back a simple thank you page or similar designed not to arouse your suspicion. You might think nothing of it until a few days later when you check your statement online and find out that your credit card has been used without your knowledge. The phisher has collected your username and password and used it to gain access to your account.

So how can you protect yourself from being the victim of such a scam? Better yet, how can you stop spam from getting to your e-mail in the first place? There are a number of steps you can take to help curb the flow of spam. The first is to never respond to or forward on spam e-mail that you receive. Simply report it to your ISP and move on. Don’t let the spammer know that there is an actual account there or you will be put onto even more spam e-mail lists. Second, invest in spam blocking tools that work to help prevent spam from reaching your inbox and also work to help protect you from being scammed. Such tools usually cost very little and can easily pay for themselves in as little as a week. Finally, consider setting up a “secret” e-mail account that only your family and friends know about. Use this account for correspondence with trusted individuals and then have another account you use for placing orders, signing up for newsletters, posting to forums, etc. You don’t even need to check the e-mail box of the junk account, its just there to act as a catch-all.

Spam is a costly problem that affects everyone who has an e-mail account. You can fight back against spammers and help to make sure that you are not the next victim of one of their scams. All it takes is the right tools, the right attitude and a desire to help rid your e-mail of junk once and for all.

About the Author:
Vincent Rich is an internet marketer and author of the anti spam web site Spam Blocker Download. Sign up for his free anti spam mini course to discover how you can live spam free in the next 5 days.
Article Source: NewFREEArticles.com

Evict the Spammers from Your Inbox

Block Spam and Other Email Threats From Entering Your Gateway
Spam, commonly defined as unsolicited commercial email, is a powerful advertising channel for many products and services. As a result, spamming has become a profitable business, driven by the low cost of sending email compared to other direct marketing techniques. The high return on investment for spammers has resulted in an overwhelming volume of unwanted messages in personal and business email boxes. Consider this: Conducting a direct mail campaign costs an average of $1.39 per person, meaning that a response rate of 1 in 14 is necessary just to break even on a product with a $20 gross profit. Selling the same item via unsolicited spam email costs only $0.0004 per person, meaning that a response rate of 1 in 50,000 gets the seller back to break-even; anything above that is gravy. With profit margins like these, it’s easy to see why spammers will try anything to get past anti spam technology to deliver their messages to your inbox.

Types of Spam Threats
The recent onset of fraudulent spam variants such as phishing and spoofing pose an even greater risk than the spam volume clogging email servers. Spammers use techniques such as phishing and spoofing to fool users into opening messages that, at first glance, appear innocuous.

Phishing
Phishing is a specific type of spam message that solicits personal information from the recipient. Phishers use social engineering techniques to fool end users into believing that the message originated from a trusted sender, making these attacks especially dangerous because they often con victims into divulging social security numbers, bank account information or credit card numbers. In one six-month period from November 2003 to May 2004, phishing attacks increased in frequency by 4000%, and the trend continues upward.

An example of phishing is an email that appears to come from a bank requesting that users log into their account to update or correct personal information. When the users follow a link embedded in the email, they are redirected to a site that looks and behaves like the expected bank website. However, unbeknownst to the soon-to-be identity theft victims, the site is actually controlled by the scam artists who sent the email; any and all information entered by the victim can now be used in a variety of ways, none of them good.

Spoofing
Spoofing is a deceptive form of spam that hides the domain of the spammer or the spam’s origination point. Spammers often hijack the domains of well-known businesses or government entities to make spam filters think the communication is coming from a legitimate source.

Today’s spammers are more crafty than ever before and have begun blending elements of both phishing and spoofing into their messages, further spinning their web of deception. The toxic combination of spoofing and phishing presents a major threat that can trick most anyone into providing personal information to a stranger.

Toothless Legislation
On January 1, 2004, President Bush signed into law the “Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003,” or “CAN-SPAM” Act. While well intentioned, CAN-SPAM has done little or nothing to curb the flow of unwanted email. In fact, an estimated 97% of all spam email sent in 2004 violated the Act, and the United States still dwarfs other nations in terms of the origin of spam, with CipherTrust research revealing that an astonishing 56.77% of all spam comes from U.S.-based IP addresses. While CAN-SPAM was designed to decrease the overall volume of spam, the exact opposite has happened: in 2004, spam accounted for approximately 77% of all email traffic, and phishing attacks continue to increase exponentially, with studies showing an increase of 4000% from November 2003 to May 2004.

Anti Spam Software for the Desktop
The dramatic increase in spam volume has prompted a corresponding surge in stand-alone anti spam software solutions for the desktop, all with varying levels of effectiveness. Some anti spam software uses text filtering to screen incoming messages for known characteristics of spam, while other solutions rely solely on reputation systems that monitor and categorize email senders by IP address according to their sending behavior. Still other anti spam software uses “challenge/response filters” to block unapproved mail until the sender responds (manually) to a challenge email sent to their email account to verify his or her identity.

With so many different methods of filtering spam, no single software-based desktop anti spam solution is capable of effectively stopping spam before it reaches the inbox. The only way to successfully fight spam is to create an anti spam “cocktail” including reputation services, text filters, constant updates and a host of other best-of-breed spam blocking methods. Just as importantly, an effective anti spam solution should reside at the email gateway, not at the desktop. Without protection at the gateway, mail servers waste massive amounts of bandwidth and storage space processing every message, wanted or not, and end users face the unenviable task of deciding what to do with the countless spam messages that successfully reach them.

Take a Consolidated Approach to Anti Spam
Although it takes a person only a moment to process a message and identify it as spam, it is difficult to automate that human process because no single message characteristic consistently identifies spam. In fact, there are hundreds of different message characteristics that may indicate an email is spam, and an effective anti spam solution must be capable of employing multiple spam detection techniques.

In addition to effectively identifying spam, businesses must be assured that legitimate mail is not blocked in error. Even one false positive, or incorrectly blocked email, can have a significant impact on businesses today. Accurate spam blocking requires a combination of tools to examine various message criteria combined with real-time research and intelligence data.

By aggregating multiple spam detection technologies like text filtering, reputation services, traffic analysis and other best-of-breed techniques, and placing the solution at the email gateway in a hardened appliance, enterprises can retake control of the inbox.

About the author:
Paul Judge, CTO, CipherTrust, Inc. is a noted scholar and entrepreneur. He is Chief Technology Officer at CipherTrust, the industry's largest provider of enterprise email security. The company’s flagship product, IronMail provides a best of breed enterprise anti spam solution designed to stop spam, phishing attacks and other email-based threats. Learn more by visiting www.ciphertrust.com/products/spam_and_fraud_protection today.
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