Social engineering has evolved in the past few years and has become a tool for many hackers and cybercriminals. It is an umbrella term that covers a number of methods that convince people online that they need to give out important personal information, which would then be used to commit fraud. Phishing is one such method.
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The first time phishing was officially used was in 1996 when hackers attacked the America Online (AOL) system in hopes of obtaining passwords and other sensitive information. It was called phishing because the hackers set up baits in the form of online communications such as emails and messages, even adding logos of huge companies and institutions and signatures of important people. As the victims “bit” on the bait, they gave up passwords, credit card information, and a lot more details without knowing all these would be used for crimes such as identity theft and credit card fraud.
Part of phishing is email spoofing, wherein hackers replicate an email from a reputable company and change the source of the email. Victims who open the email are instructed to click on a link that then leads them to a fabricated site. On the site, there are instructions for visitors to enter personal and sensitive data.
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While thousands of people have been victimized by hackers and cybercriminals using this method, IT experts have come out with a number of ways to counter phishing. First of all, simply ignore emails that seem too good to be true. If one feels compelled to open them and go through the link, be skeptical. If an email leads to a website that asks for sensitive information, look for a phone number. If the site doesn’t have a phone number, stay away from it.
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