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There is a reason that Phishing is the first scam on this web site, scammers need to do this in order to start the next stage of the scam. If they can't 'Phish' your information out of you then, in most cases, they can't scam you. PhishingWhat is phishing (And yes, the spelling is correct)? It is simply a scammer trying to get information out of you in order to use it for there own evil purposes. Phishing is usually the start of a number of scams, including ebay, Paypal
and all credit card scams - the reason for this is simple, scammers need your
information in order to access your accounts. Phishing can be done a number of ways; the most common methods are emails and phone calls.
First we'll look at emails.You will receive an email (and if you have an email for more than a year
then you WILL receive one) which will be made to look like it comes from a
legitimate source (e.g ebay, Paypal, your local bank). These emails will ask for you to update your personal details and you must give them quickly. The email goes on to tell you that if you don't update your details then your account is suspended. This is done in order to pressure you to do it fast. If you click on the link in these emails then you will be taken to a web
site that looks just like the real thing (i.e a fake ebay email will take you
to a fake ebay site, a fake paypal email will take you to a fake paypal
website). The best way to avoid these scams is to simply hit the delete button when you receive the email.
Phone callsIt could happen to you so be ready. The next time you receive a phone call from your bank (not
when you ring them) there is one thing you MUST do - ask to ring them
back. If it is a scammer ringing you they attempt to get you to verify who you are. They ask for your name, address, social security number (if you are in the USA) or bank account numbers (in Australia); that's all the information they need. Now they will tell you that your account is under investigation and that you are not to use this account until an internal investigation is completed, they say that this will take 3 days. In those 3 days scammers can not only clean your account out but can also
get loans from major lending organisations; in Australia there was case where
AUS$250,000 (US$190,000) was taken out in loans within 5 days. |
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