Jul
13

Awareness of Phishing Scams when Shopping Online

You may have noticed a certain type of email that has been sent to you after making a recent purchase online. The message might indicate in some way that there has been an unauthorized transaction made to you account. Or it might indicate that they cannot verify your information. Either way there will be a link that they insist you click on to fix the problem. These types of emails are part of a scam called, “Phishing.”

These phishing scams are meant to target online shoppers who may have a paypal account, a credit card, or a bank account. They are committed by internet fraudsters sending spam to get any type of personal information form online shoppers. They pose as though they are from a business company that the online shopper deals with, when making purchases online. You may be asked to update or validate your account information in an attempt for them to obtain your information by sending you to their link.

The link posted in their spamming email will direct you to a website that looks as though it were a legitimate site, and often times looks very similar to the official website they are posing as. Once on this fake website, created by the fraudsters, you will be prompted to enter your personal information into the fields available. This will then grant them access to any password, social security number, credit card number, or bank account entered onto the page.

Online shoppers are more often targeted due to their frequent use of personal information on the internet. If one receives these phishing emails, it is important that you do not answer them by replying to the email. Avoid these phishing scams at all cost and report them by going to the official website of the company they are claiming to be, and forward the email to their contact information.