Been Phished? Report phishing email attacks and scams !

What should you do if you have been phished? Rule of thumb is to immediatly report phishing scams to the right authority to prevent others from being fooled!

Being phished can mean having your credit card information given away, banking accounts or your Ebay account given away. Furthermore a trojan could have been downloaded on your computer. Someone might even steal your personal information, make reservations, get passports, and commit crimes in your name, making a case of identity theft.

Depending on your case there are reaction patterns, which should be followed. The most important thing is to act immediately and report phishing to minimize the damage. If you hesitate you can become completely or partial liable for the damage done to you and others.

 

“I will never be phished!”

 

It doesn’t take long to be phished. On a bad day, tired in front of the computer with someone startling you by raising suspicion about your banking account withdrawals, it’s easy to click on that link telling you it’s all going to be fine! A phishing attack can be successful in 3 minutes or less.

“How can anyone be that stupid! This could never happen to me!” you might think while reading a phishing report. You are wrong!

There are new ways of cunning phishing attacks using high technology solutions Trojans entering your computer without you even thinking the word phish. Just by clicking the wrong place, or having the wrong email program can cause you to be exposed to a Trojan, which sleeps in your computer. When you go to your trusted bank, however, the trojan awakens and starts a keylogger spyware which registers your every move and makes screenprints for greater ease in “withdrawing your money right after”. So far these have only been seen in Brazil and Africa, but they are expected to hit Europe and North America shortly.

 

React, report phishing email and review your accounts
– What to do when phishers got your numbers

 

The first thing to do, if you have suspicion about a phishing attack or you know you have being phished, is to report phishing email to the proper authority. This depends on what kind of phishing has taken place. We have summed up some common phish reaction patterns below depending on what phishers may have done to you:

• Credit card information scam, report phishing email to the bank !
  This is a common form of scamming where phishers pretend to send an email from your trusted bank requesting creditcard information. Best response is to contact your bank immediately and report phishing directly to them. Then cancel your account and open a new one. It’s important to react rapidly. You will have no liability if your loss revolves around your creditcard number, but not the card itself

 

• Phished bank account, if you have given out your bank account
  Contact your bank, cancel your account and open up a new one. Check if billings you are unfamiliar with have been withdrawn from you account and report it to your bank. You don’t have liability in most cases and will get refunded.

 

• Detecting phishing with Ebay
  What to do when given out your Ebay account data. Ebay has their own link for HIJACKED ACCOUNTS and phishing report. Report phishing email through a feedback and list auctions posted without your permission. Try to change your password to regain control of your account and undo auctions etc. done by the hacker or phisher.

 

• How to act if you download a securybank phishing trojan
  This one can be hard to detect. Trojans can be downloaded without your knowledge by clicking in the wrong place. Through scripts using ActiveX safety holes, you can download a securybank phishing trojan just by reviewing your email in Outlook. A counter measure is to install an anti-spyware program as the Trojans usually use keyloggers to get your information. Also keep your anti-virus programs up to date and disable the default auto display in Outlook. (I recommend using another email program)

 

• You feel your identity is in danger
  If you have reason to believe someone’s gotten a hold of personal information like social security number etc. you have allot of reporting to do:

  o Contact your bank and the major credit card bureaus; tell them about your suspicion. Close all bank accounts not administered by your self and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

  
  o Contact your local police, passport office, Social Security Administration, Department of Motor Vehicles etc. to stop anyone from unauthorized use of your personal information.

  
  o Report to the Internet Fraud Complaint Centre who fight to defeat internet fraud.

 

Where to report phishing emails to help others avoid getting phished:

For all who wish to report citibank email phishing fraud and other phish scams, please contact:

Government Anti-Fraud Agencies