Phishing occurs when a fraudster sends an e-mail that contains a link to a fraudulent web site where the users are asked to provide personal account information. The e-mail and web site are usually disguised to appear to recipients as though they are from a trusted service provider, financial institution or on-line merchant.
The number of phishing attacks is rising. Around 57 million Americans have been subject to an attack, costing US banks and credit card issuers around $1.2 billion last year, according to a Gartner report issued in May.
On Thursday the FTC, Visa USA, the Better Business Bureau and consumer group Call for Action, launched a programme to educate consumers on how to identify phishing scams and how to avoid becoming a victim of the fraudulent attacks.
The advice is basically common sense:
Treat unsolicited e-mail requests for personal or financial data with suspicion.
Verify the e-mail with the purported sender.
Only enter personal information on a secure site that you know to be genuine.
Update anti-virus software and security patches regularly.
Check your bank statements regularly.
The FTC also announced last week that it had settled separate charges against two phishers, Zachary Keith Hill and an unnamed minor, who targeted customers of AOL and PayPal.
The FTC charged the defendants with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act, which bars unfair and deceptive practices, and the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, which bars using false or fictitious statements to obtain consumers' financial information.
The settlements bar the defendants from sending spam; from making false claims to obtain consumers' financial information, from misrepresenting themselves to consumers, and from using, selling, or sharing any of the sensitive consumer information collected.
The two defendants were fined $125,000. But as financial records show that they cannot pay this amount, the FTC has agreed to consider the fines satisfied. One of the defendants also faces 46 months in prison on criminal charges filed by the Justice Department.
