15 Phishing Scams to Watch Out For

Perhaps the most pervasive and discussed Internet graft, phishing garners daily mention from media outlets for its high-profile victims, such as PayPal, and its incredibly diverse methods. Traditionally known as an e-mail scam, the hustle has grown to incorporate seemingly infinite forms of attack, which can make it seem intimidating and confusing.
In theory, though, the con is pretty simple. Scammers bait unsuspecting targets with seemingly legitimate requests from what appear to be reliable sources (banks, news outlets, stores) in efforts to obtain personal information. The perps specifically target data, such as social security numbers, passwords and bank pins, that can be used to access bank and credit card accounts, resulting in stolen funds and identity theft.
Casual surfers of the Web can take precautions to ensure they don't fall for any bait. Be incredibly wary of whom you give personal information, and always keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. To help you stay informed about the latest phishing incarnations, here are some of the most prevalent and convincing scams making the rounds





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Comments
15
Subscribe to commentsT.B.Mar 5th 2009 4:18PM
I recently had my personal information compromised while purchasing an item off of EBAY thru my Pay Pal account.
At that moment I envisioned someone sitting on the Beach in the Buff, in Freaking Tahiti ,with a nice cool Martini in hand, while being fanned by a Cabana Boy and lauging all the way back to the states. : 0
Thankfully I caught it due to my CC company sending me purchase notices on line. I called immediatlly to inform them I had not just pruchased $1056.00 with of whatever, nor did I purchase $256.00 from East Bay, nor did I purchase $278.00 Tennis shoes on line.
I also contacted all three companies as did my CC Company. I have still not received a full report yet but I can bet you this is the same Phishing scam . Buyer beware of on line Purchase.
thomasMar 5th 2009 4:40PM
in any time ,i dont know why there isnt harsh punishment for people who prey on others with any type of scam.if you ask me if a person gets caught running a scam why dont they give him life in prison period.but the way the crrection facilities work here in the usa the people get arrestedf put in jail,go to the prison library read up and get more of an education on how to scam people also they get to use the computer internet tools in the correctional facility to aid the in screwing the public again.if you ask me the tax payer could save alot of money if we cut back on some of the frills prisoners are getting.....if you dont believe me just ask any correctional officer.you see corrections is big business,your local police officer arrests a person and does his duty ,and once the court system gives him over to a correctional facility that facility gets a few hundred dollars for him.etcso the longer they keep him the more money they make,the more inmates the more the faciliy makes.thus the more laws they make for you to break,the higher chance to be arrested and the more likely youll be run thru a faulty system to be put in a facility that only cares about how much money they will get for you........
CBMar 5th 2009 5:27PM
I've been getting alot of these scam e-mails lately. Mostly over seas looking for some idiot to send their millions of dollars to but ask all your personal info. Then, I get these ones from Halifax security about an on line attempt to get into my account and for me to log in to take care of it. I have no account with Halifax so I know it's a scam. My accounts with different people have my phone number so if there's a problem, they'll call. There's another one out there that I can't remember. Several friends have gotten the same one. They'll say it's info about your own bank account and ask if you'll log in. Someone did this and boom! The next day their money was gone. Someone used this e-mail to hack into their bank and withdrew all their money right out from under their noses. Be ware all!
EVELYNMar 5th 2009 6:06PM
It doesn't matter who it is: if I get an email from a business, bank, whatever that may be legit, I log in to my account or telephone them. Many times they don't know anything about emails being sent.
HfiengoMar 5th 2009 6:36PM
My wife and I had money removed from our account by Elite Excursions. We never signed up with them nor gave out our information. Now we are account number. tired of the scams. You have to be a hawk about everthing. Miss something and the money is gone quickly.
PamMar 5th 2009 6:58PM
This is very sad, but true. My son is autistic and I frequent many web sites for autism. I got an email scam from what looked like the Autism Society of America. I opened the email and placed an order with my check card for some autism bracelets. The order never showed up, however about 2 weeks later, my bank was calling me with some fraud transactions on the Debit card and they froze the card. This is sad that there are people out there that will use a site for people with special needs to take advantage and commit FRAUD. TOO BAD.
danMar 5th 2009 8:09PM
put a bounty on scammers and kill them , a medal to the one who kills the desiginated scammer first
waddellMar 5th 2009 8:34PM
i tried to send this article to my e-mail and it did not go. Is this a pishing scam article. anyone else have a problem.
NEWSINPRINTMar 6th 2009 4:58AM
The other foreign scam artist in the USA are in Florida near Madoff home. A business called Arcade Currency Palace with a location in West Palm Beach and Tarpon Springs. The owner Ahmet Sandikci and his business associate Dennis Detrie are price fixing scamming crooks. Just visit www.keycurrency.com and click on bad grade link and see over (89) pages of evidence.
**Mama"s warning you **Mar 6th 2009 8:10AM
People do NOT even open the e-mails !! they will put tracking cookies and worms, trojans and virus'es into your system, and also ; not only waiting for you to fill out your personal info, but to totally cripple your computer also remember the quote from W.C fields ..".there is a sucker born every minute, so dont fall "for any of the free candy that the devil is sending you or you will be a victim and wind up in financial & personal Hell..." also use snopes.com > to find out what emails,storys floating around cyber space are true or not !!! so when ya get a email from a poor older widowed lady from some country (that says she needs to send you money , to get it into a legit united states bank and has no family here.... do your self a big favor and dont open it and RUN like hell on wheels, cause, "she is most likely"... a 20-40 y.o scam artist sitting in a quick movable small room w/a 100 more "artist's along side them, on the computers and answering phone calls, to people you may think you are making a report to...be wary ,very very wary people !! remember NOTHING in life is FREE !!
John BoyMar 8th 2009 10:49AM
Sometimes if I run into one of these scams and have a few extra minutes I will send them a bunch of false info (made up names, addresses, pin numbers, etc). If nothing else it should waste their time and maybe frustrate them. I can just see them keying in all of your information with a smug smile on their faces wahile thinking they are getting your bank information but all they are really getting is trash.If everyone did this it might at least slow down the scum that is out their preying on us until they figure out a way around it. This also works for the multitude of Nigerian 4-1-9 scammers out there. Don't get me wrong--I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands but I try to make a little room to harass these people. I just fill out there stupid forms with false info, some of it creative and funny.
Of course, erase cookies frequently and run real-time virus software while on the Internet.You can stay safe while having a little fun on here at the same time.
ArringtonMar 10th 2009 6:50PM
I have been corresponding with the Central Bank of Nigeria for almost a year. Evidently, I inherited money, how? who knows. I was sending any kid of information, but the right one. They told me that the reason it has taken so long to receive my INHERITANCE was because I was dealing with unsavory charecters, or some such nonsense. I still have them on hold.
Recently, I received an e-mail from a Sargent in the US army stationed in Iraq. His scam is this. He and other soldiers found 28 million dollars hidden in area that Sadam frequented. At any rate, they would have a hard time getting the money out of Iraq, but he had paid a diplomat to move the funds and to contct me upon his arrival. He e-mailed me when the diplomat was enroute. When the diplomat supposedly arrived in New York he phoned me,and told me to check my email. When I did ,there were directions to wire $1000 to him in New York. I let him know that I was onto the scam, but to send me $5000 in Good Faith. Of course that was the end of that. I have not heard from Sgt. Brown.
MichaelMar 11th 2009 9:29AM
A similar scam involving my Skype account. I received an e-mail claiming that my monthly subscription payment was declined. Knowing when my monthly payment was made and that it cleared my account, I realized that the message was a scam. This is similar to a message from Citicorp regarding my account. (I have no account with Citicorp..) My e-mail account warned me that the e-mail did not come from a Citicorp known address and advised me that the e-mail was a fraud. Keep youreyes open and DO NOT OPEN ANY E-MAIL THAT SEEMS STRANGE OR THAT PAYMENTS DID NOT GO THROUGH.
RonniMar 14th 2009 11:49PM
i have a question. i got an email in my aol email & it was from the exact email address as mine! when i opened it, i didnt click on the link but i still have it. so i can show aol somehow, or should i delete it? this is my email that is the main email for my others on aol, and the other one connects to my ebay & paypal accts. does this mean someone has hacked my password by chance? also, when i opened the email, inside it said it was from nigeria or netherlands, something like that.
MaryMar 23rd 2009 2:37AM
I got this email from the Netherlands telling me I had inherited a big amount of money and I had to send them more info on myself so they would be sure they were giving the money to the right person... I get this sort of rip off emails all time and I have gotten to where I delete them as soon as they come into my email. There should be a law against this sort of rip off!! There are some honest hard working people left. Wish the crooks would find something better to do with their time...