Phishing Scams: Survey - Crooks targeting you
Phishing Awareness
I'm in the midst of a Phishing Survey. I'm interviewing ordinary people, asking them if they know what phishing is, and if the fear of phishing scams has changed their online habits at all.Phishing: people trying get your personal details such as credit card details, account/usernames & passwords, and social security numbers through subterfuge. For example an email claiming to be from your bank asking you to reconfirm your account/password/etc - this is ALWAYS a Phishing Scam!
Phishing is RAMPANT. I get several phishing emails a day. The people sending these are criminals trying to steal your money or identity, just burglars and bank robbers.
Basically, almost no one knows what phishing is, despite massive press about phishing (e.g., one gentleman when surveyed immediate pulled out TWO newspapers that had articles that day about phishing scams). Those that do know about phishing haven't changed their online habits!
Despite few people knowing what phishing was, it was clear that most people are very wary about doing business on the Internet. Reasonable levels of paranoia seem to common. Some people were clearly clueless though, thinking it was no big deal if someone got their personal info! Also, many people who claimed they had heard of phishing thought it had something to do with the band "Phish" - I am serious!
I concentrated on surveying ordinary people, trying to get an overall picture of the awareness of phishing. I surveyed doctors, lawyers, plumbers, sandwich-makers, students, sailors, repairmen, random people on the street, even annoying telemarketers ("answer my questions first") etc. The only people excluded were people I knew worked in the Computer Field.
Check out the Anti-Phishing Workgroup for more information on Phishing. And yes, I do think it's a stupid name!
The survey is ongoing in the US, as well as Asia-Pacific. Results are due in Oct. and will be announced in here, in The Ted Rap Blog, as well as in the SecurITy Newsletter.
posted by Ted Demopoulos at 9:17 AM
Comments on "Phishing Scams: Survey - Crooks targeting you"
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prying1 said ... (Tuesday, September 13, 2005 1:33:00 AM) :
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Ted Demopoulos said ... (Tuesday, September 13, 2005 11:04:00 AM) :
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Orikinla Osinachi. said ... (Tuesday, September 13, 2005 1:02:00 PM) :
post a commentI had no idea what it was until after I fell for the first one I ever recieved. Fortunately I caught on pretty quick and changed some accounts before any damage was done. - I hate those punk crooks with a passion - Thanks for helping to get people informed.
Unfortunately many people fall victum. A lot of these phishing emails look extremely legit and are very well done.
Phishing Scam!
Americans and Nigerians are partners in crime in the scams.
American scams are very subtle.
But, Nigerian scams are for dummies.
Personally, I hardly give away my private e-mail or details of my credit card on line.
I mean why should they even ask you to fill in your credit card account number on line as if they are ignorant of hackers and I don't trust anybody anyway.
I never trusted my mother till the day she died talkless of a faceless stranger on line.
The notorious Nigerian Internet scammer went as far as using the name of Jesus Christ. How she was converted and was now "born again". She was from Kuwait and lost her husband, an oil contractor in Cote d'Voire. She was now about to die and wanted me to claim millions of dollars to keep 10% and donate the rest to Christian missions and charities. Then, she sent me a picture of herself and her husband with a document of the Internet Scammers famous BAO Bank. But, if she was a good actress, I was a better actor. So, I played her script and was highly amused by her good story telling skills. These scammers would have won several literary prizes if they had taken to writing books instead of wasting their talents on Phishing Scams!