Phishing Scam Goes Elite
Posted on | April 16, 2008 |
There’s an email scam out online attempting to reel in the nation’s top executives:
Thousands of high-ranking executives across the country have been receiving e-mail messages this week that appear to be official subpoenas from the United States District Court in San Diego. Each message includes the executive’s name, company and phone number, and commands the recipient to appear before a grand jury in a civil case.
A link embedded in the message purports to offer a copy of the entire subpoena. But a recipient who tries to view the document unwittingly downloads and installs software that secretly records keystrokes and sends the data to a remote computer over the Internet. This lets the criminals capture passwords and other personal or corporate information. [NYT]
This just goes to show that everyone and anyone can fall victim to identity theft. So what can you do?
1. Keep an eye on your bank statements and your credit reports. You can order your free credit reports from the credit bureaus: http://www.annualcreditreport.com
2. Read emails carefully. Although you may receive an “official” document, think and proceed carefully. Online searches of “common phishing scams” might provide answers.
3. Report any “phishy” activity to the correct authorities. If an email is posing to be a PayPal account update request, email PayPal and let them know you’ve received this phishing email so they can investigate it properly. Also, report any identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission as well so they too can investigate.
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