What is a phishing scam?
Phishing scam is just another attempt to get valuable information. Scammers send a mass email to every address they can find. Typically the message will appear to come from a bank or financial institution. The email states that you should update your information for one reason or another, and they usually provide a link that you can click to do so. Virginia Commerce Bank will never request our customers to update their personal or account information via web links contained within e-mails. Please report suspicious or phishing e-mails to Virginia Commerce Bank by calling 1-888-446-1483.
What is phishing?
Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your identity. In phishing scams, scam artists try to get you to disclose valuable personal data—like credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information—by convincing you to provide it under false pretenses. Phishing schemes can be carried out in person or over the phone, and are delivered online through spam e-mail or pop-up windows.
How does phishing work?
A phishing scam sent by e-mail may start with con artists who send millions of e-mail messages that appear to come from popular Web sites or sites that you trust, like your bank or credit card company. The e-mail messages, pop-up windows, and the Web sites they link to appear official enough that they deceive many people into believing that they are legitimate. Unsuspecting people too often respond to these requests for their credit card numbers, passwords, account information, or other personal data.
What does a phishing scam look like?
As scam artists become more sophisticated, so do their phishing e-mail messages and pop-up windows. They often include official-looking logos from real organizations and other identifying information taken directly from legitimate Web sites. The following is an example of what a phishing scam e-mail message might look like.
Example of a phishing e-mail message, including a deceptive URL address linking to a scam Web site.
To make these phishing e-mail messages look even more legitimate, the scam artists may place a link in them that appears to go to the legitimate Web site (1), but it actually takes you to a phony scam site (2) or possibly a pop-up window that looks exactly like the official site. These copycat sites are also called "spoofed" Web sites. Once you're at one of these spoofed sites, you might unwittingly send personal information to the con artists. They then often use your information to purchase goods, apply for a new credit card, or otherwise steal your identity.
Source: Microsoft.com |
In This Article:
•How can I tell if an e-mail message is fraudulent?
•The do's and don'ts of dealing with suspicious e-mail
•What to do if you've responded to a phishing scam
Tip:
To see updated examples of popular phishing scams or to report a possible phishing scam, visit the Anti-Phishing Working Group Archive. |
