Thursday, September 23, 2004
Forbes has an article about phishing.
There's a Forbes article about Internet credit card thieves in the current print and electronic issues.
They offer the same advice I do: don't use a hyperlink from an email to go to your financial institution's web site. They mention a good idea that I may not have, namely using a bookmark to go there. Bookmarks are not only more convenient than typing, they save you from the risk of spelling the name wrong. This matters because scumbags sometimes register common misspellings and put up a fake site to trick poor typers into thinking they're talking to a bank.
A sidebar mentions free Earthlink software called Scamblocker which tries to tell you if you're visiting a fake web site. I'm sure it's good, but don't expect too much: software like that is just one move in an arms race and the crooks will work hard to find ways around it.
They point out that you should watch your statements carefully. For one thing, if you don't report a problem within 60 days your bank may stick you with the bill. For another, crooks sometimes try to escape attention by making lots of small charges.
Forbes recommends that you take advantage of offers by credit card issuers to let you use an additional password for online purchases along with your credit card number. I'm not so sure. If someone tricks you into typing your credit card number they can trick you into typing the extra password. Issuers pitch the extra-password services to online merchants by saying it's harder for customers to dispute charges. Does that mean your credit card issuer eats the loss instead of the merchant, or does it mean you get stuck? Ask your credit card issuer.
Forbes also recommends firewalls, maybe by reflex. Firewalls don't help against phishing scams.
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They offer the same advice I do: don't use a hyperlink from an email to go to your financial institution's web site. They mention a good idea that I may not have, namely using a bookmark to go there. Bookmarks are not only more convenient than typing, they save you from the risk of spelling the name wrong. This matters because scumbags sometimes register common misspellings and put up a fake site to trick poor typers into thinking they're talking to a bank.
A sidebar mentions free Earthlink software called Scamblocker which tries to tell you if you're visiting a fake web site. I'm sure it's good, but don't expect too much: software like that is just one move in an arms race and the crooks will work hard to find ways around it.
They point out that you should watch your statements carefully. For one thing, if you don't report a problem within 60 days your bank may stick you with the bill. For another, crooks sometimes try to escape attention by making lots of small charges.
Forbes recommends that you take advantage of offers by credit card issuers to let you use an additional password for online purchases along with your credit card number. I'm not so sure. If someone tricks you into typing your credit card number they can trick you into typing the extra password. Issuers pitch the extra-password services to online merchants by saying it's harder for customers to dispute charges. Does that mean your credit card issuer eats the loss instead of the merchant, or does it mean you get stuck? Ask your credit card issuer.
Forbes also recommends firewalls, maybe by reflex. Firewalls don't help against phishing scams.
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