Charming Group: Phishing: Examples and its prevention methods.

What is phishing? Phishing is an e-mail fraud method in which the perpetrator sends out legitimate-looking email in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from recipients. Typically, the messages appear to come from well known and trustworthy Web sites. Web sites that are frequently spoofed by phishers include PayPal, eBay, MSN, Yahoo, BestBuy, and America Online. The phisher puts the lure hoping to fool at least a few of the prey that encounter the bait.

PayPal phishing example

In an example PayPal phish, spelling mistakes in the e-mail and the presence of an IP address in the link are both clues that this is a phishing attempt. Another giveaway is the lack of a personal greeting, although the presence of personal details would not be a guarantee of legitimacy.

To avoid getting hooked:

Don't reply to email o r pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial informatio n, and don't click on links in the message. Don't cut and paste a link from the message into your Web browser — phishers can make l inks look like they go one place, but tha t actually send you to a different site.
Some scammers s end an email that appears to be from a legiti mate business and ask you to call a phone number to upd ate your account or access a "refund." Because they use Voice over Internet Protocol technology, the area code you call does not reflect wher e the scammers really are. If you need to reach an organizati on you do business with, call the number on your financial state ments or on the back of your credit card.
Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly.
Don't email personal or financial info rmation.
Review credit card and bank accoun t statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorize d charges.
Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receives, regardless of who sent them.