Phishing fraud: How to protect your online accounts

What exactly is phishing?

Phishing is the act of sending an email that falsely pretends to be from a known, real company in order to trick the recipient into revealing personal information that will be used for identity theft. The customer is redirected to a website where they must update personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, national insurance numbers and bank account information. By copying the HTML code or framing parts of the pages, it is quite easy to make a website appear genuine.

Many people fall victim to email scams aimed at stealing login credentials for accounts such as PayPal, eBay, online banking and others. The scammers send emails to any address they can get their hands on, so you can receive one even if you don't have an account with the targeted shop, website or company.

The look of scam emails is getting better and better. You may receive an email from eBay that looks like it came from them. The email contains all the necessary logos and has a standardised design. The links in the email even appear to lead to real eBay pages. Emails pretending to be from eBay, for example, say that the user's account will soon be suspended unless they click on the link provided and update their credit card details.

Other PayPal-related scams often include a notification about unwanted access attempts. The sender informs you that an attempt has been made to gain access to your account. As a result, you risk having your account "frozen". However, if you open the link in the email (as instructed), you can enter your password and supposedly prevent your account from being lost. By doing so, you give your data to strangers.

Remember that this is not just about PayPal. Similar emails are also being sent to Storm Pay, e-gold, eBay and other users. Be wary of these scams that try to trick you into providing information (such as passwords) that will allow the sender to gain access to your account.

If you receive a dodgy message, open a new browser and enter the URL to your account. Never open a link in an email that purports to take you to your PayPal account. Your account information (and your finances!) will be safer if you make this a rule.

If you feel that you have submitted sensitive financial information about yourself or accounts as a result of a phishing scam, you should take the following steps:

• Contact your bank or your account immediately.
• Apply for a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting the major credit bureaus.
• File a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• If you believe you have been the victim of a phishing scam, you can also inform the Internet Crime Complaint Centre.