Even Web Experts Are Now Falling For Phishing

One would expect that the sort of people who fall for phishing schemes are people who are relatively new to the World Wide Web which also means that they will tend to be pretty much uninformed about a lot of things on the net. The last thing anybody would expect is for a technically conversant Internet person to be a victim of a phishing email or instant message.

Shockingly a recent post at a popular discussion group for webmasters has highlighted the fact that pretty much anybody can fall for a phishing trick. In the widely read post, an experienced webmaster confessed to recently falling for a phishing email in his inbox and even going as far as giving out his Amazon.com log in password.

Phishing is the rampant criminal activity where attempts are made to fraudulently acquire unsuspecting person's sensitive information such as passwords and credit card details. Masquerading as a genuine representative of a company sending out an official email is usually done to achieve this. Phishing is also done using instant messaging (IM).

So how does a web veteran who is fairly conversant with phishing fall for such a trick? Some attribute it to tiredness and being caught in the wrong frame of mind where it is easy to start doing something online without thinking too much about it. It is clear that this is something that could happen to anybody.

The damage and repercussions of falling for phishing can be enormous and ranges from loss of access to email to huge financial losses. Armed with a person's personal information phishers may use the details to create fake accounts in a victim's name, ruin somebody's credit or prevent somebody from accessing their own accounts.

One can never be too careful because this style of identity theft is on the rise and becoming more and more popular by the day. The best precaution is to keep passwords in a separate location and never store this sensitive information on the same computer as where your usernames are stored. Also, never reveal your passwords to anyone outside your circle of most trusted friends or colleagues. Website owners should never allow their webmasters to register a domain name in their name instead of the name of the company, especially if the purpose of the domain's registration is for the company's use. Employers should immediately change all passwords when any employee leaves the company (for any reason whatsoever). And for those that are even more pre cautious than what is the norm, you may even consider running a criminal background check on any new employee that you intend to hire. Of course, you will need to get the prospect's permission before completing this background check (for privacy reasons). If you follow these simple precautions, the likely hood of falling for an online fraud scheme is dramatically reduced.