No offense to fans of the band, Phish – phishing refers to an Internet scam. When a hacker goes phishing, they send an email with a link to a web page which looks almost (or exactly) like a page with which the user is already familiar. The lure in this case is almost official look of the hacker’s page and their goal is to get the user to provide personal information such as passwords, social security numbers, bank account numbers, etc. The hackers use some really clever tricks since the From address in the email looks reasonable, the link looks reasonable, and the web page looks reasonable. Companies which have been affected include eBay, Best Buy, and PayPal. To avoid getting phished, don’t access your account through the link in the email. Often times, the email will state that your account will be suspended or terminated without confirming the requested information. Instead, go to the site’s real home page and log in as usual. If there is a real need for confirmation of some information, you will be notified there.
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