Financial
Security II
Imagine
this scenario. You get an email that
appears to be from your bank. You open
it and read a message riddled with misspelled words that direct you to “click
the link below.” You click on the link,
and are taken to a page that looks almost exactly like the website you’re used
to visiting … almost.
You’ve
been phished.
Hopefully,
this scenario has never happened to you.
Or if it has, you recognized the warning signs and knew to stay
away. Unfortunately, many people don’t recognize those warning signs, and
fall prey to a particularly insidious form of Internet fraud called phishing.
Phishing is defined as “the creation of email messages and Web pages that are replicas of
existing, legitimate sites and businesses.
These Web sites and emails are used to trick users into submitting
personal, financial, or password data.
These emails often ask for information such as credit card numbers, bank
account information, Social Security numbers, and passwords that will be used
to commit fraud.”1 A play on the word “fishing,” (with
regular people as the prey, and fake emails/web sites as the bait), the crooks
behind phishing like to target the following areas:
Ÿ Retail/Service – 29.37%
Ÿ Payment Services – 25.13%
Ÿ Email – 12.39%
Ÿ Social Networking – 6.43%
Ÿ Other – 26.68%
People who fall for these scams are often
duped into giving out sensitive information, like their Social Security
numbers, account passwords, credit card numbers, or even bank PIN numbers. Or, they may be directed to sites that
proceed to install malicious software onto their computer or mobile
device. Either way, phishing poses a
major threat to your finances, your identity, or your data.
Thankfully, phishing is easy to avoid if
you follow a few common-sense rules:
Ÿ Legitimate banks, retailers, and
social media sites should never ask
for your personal information via email.
If you receive a message from someone asking for this info, assume it’s
a scam.
Ÿ Furthermore, as a general rule of
thumb, do not reply to any message,
electronic or otherwise, that requests your personal information.
Ÿ Never use links in an email to
connect to a website. Open a new browser
window and type the site address in directly.
Ÿ Always double-check the URL of any
site you intend to visit. Some thieves
set up sites with URLs that look very similar to a legitimate site. For example, “amzon.com” instead of “amazon,”
or “facebok.com” instead of “facebook.”
You get the idea.
Ÿ When doing business online, look at
each website’s address. Secure websites
should have a small symbol of a lock next to their URL, or the letters https (instead of merely http) at the
beginning of the address. Both the lock
and the letter “s” indicate that the site has been verified as secure.
Also, learn to recognize what common
phishing messages look like. There are
often a few telltale signs:
Dear Costumer,
We have recieved notice that your identity is not secure! This could put
your account in danger. To register for
a higher lvel of security, simply:
1. Click the
link below to open a secure portal to our site
2.
Confirm your the owner of the account by
answering a few simple questions
If you do not comply with these
instructions in 7 days we have no choice
but to permanently delete your account.
Sincerely,
Your
Bank, Privacy Division
The
warning signs aren’t hard to spot. Look
for misspelled words (costumer, recieved, lvel, etc.), links to click on
(“Click the link below”), threats (“If you do not comply”), and references to a
well-known business or organization.
I
hope you found this information valuable.
Just remember that by keeping your eyes open and remembering a few
common-sense rules, you can protect yourself, your loved ones, and your data
from phishing scams.
Good
luck!
Regards,
,
Michael L. Schwartz, RFC®, CWS®, CFS
P.S.
Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or
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Michael
L. Schwartz, RFC, CWS, CFS, a registered principal offering securities and
advisory services through Independent Financial Group, LLC., a registered
broker-dealer and investment advisor.
Member FINRA-SIPC. Schwartz Financial and Independent Financial Group
are unaffiliated entities.
This
information is provided for informational purposes only and is not a
solicitation or recommendation that any particular investor should purchase or
sell any security. The information contained herein is obtained from sources
believed to be reliable but its accuracy or completeness is not
guaranteed. Any opinions expressed
herein are subject to change without notice.
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* The DJ Global ex US is an unmanaged group of non-U.S.
securities designed to reflect the performance of the global equity securities
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and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is
composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on
July 14, 1998.
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