“PHISHING – NOT A Sport You Want To Take Up !” Lessons In Debt, Credit And Home Ownership

 PHISHING – NOT a sport you want to take up, it will cost you time and money, don’t confuse it with FISHING, a sport that does bring rewards of pleasure. Now you are asking, “ What is phishing ?” The strange name sounds a lot like the all American sport ‘fishing’, something you do in a lake or stream with a pole. That’s because it’s a similar process: phishers apply bait and wait for a bite. They want you to be the fish.

There are several ways the crooks bait you while they are phishing. I have written a similar article on this subject matter on http://MoneySavingTips.PolkVoice.com if you desire more on the topic.  I have shared with my readers previously how online ads BAIT =FREE offer and all you have to pay is the $1.95 shipping and handling = HOOK !  The website:  FREE CREDIT REPORT.com has consumers bombarding the FTC with complaints because it is misleading to the general public.

These unexpected payments or charges with online wallet services like Paypal is another. When it comes to your money, especially, you can’t be too skeptical, here is how to identify whether there’s a scammer on the other end of that login form. Look at the URL – This may get a little techy, but it’s something any internet user should learn.

 The URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which is the web page’s full address, is a telling hint toward whether you’re being scammed. Your location bar is usually up at the top of the window you use for web browsing. The text inside starts with http:// or https://. The part that comes immediately after that is the host name, like /wired.com/. Sometimes, instead it has extra words up front, like /howto.wired.com/. That’s called a sub-domain.

 Whoever owns the main .com (or .net, .org, etc.) can make as many sub-domains as they want. Scammers use a simple trick to include your bank’s name in front of their own web site name. For example, your bank’s website is yourtrustedbank.com.

A scammer might use yourtrustedbank.securebank.com, which looks pretty good. But remember, your bank can own anything ending in yourtrustedbank.com. But whoever owns securebank.com (the scammer in this case) can put anything in front of securebank.com, including the name of your bank. Using the URL to identify the scam means you have to understand the difference between securebank.yourtrustedbank.com and yourbank.securetrustedbank.com. If they look the same to you, know that makes you extra vulnerable.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse: often the scammers get really devious and use yourtrustedbank.com.securebank.com. The URL begins with your bank’s complete web site name, but it’s still a scam! S

Spectrum Resources counsels in debt, credit and home ownership and offers education and options. Call (863) 967-0660 email: SpectrumResources@tampabay.rr.com

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