Hanapa’a!  That’s the word I like to hear when we go fishing. But that’s also the sound that many people in the internet underworld want to hear when someone is a victim of a phishing scam.  This is Phishing with a PH and not an “F”. 

By now, everyone has gotten emails from CITIBank or Bank of America or even from some of the local credit unions asking you to verify your information or update your profile or just to change your password!  Who does this and why do they do it?  The people who send you phishing scams are there for one reason.  To get your personal information.   Getting someone's personal information allows them to be able to create a new identity, make purchases on your behalf …for themselves!  And continue on with a host of issues that can really mess you up.  Though the overall cost of solving identity theft has come down, there are still a lot of ways you can prevent yourself from being a scam victim.

Recently, a lady in Australia was scammed out of $100,000 to a typical Nigerian scam.  The victim was online at a dating website, started to exchange emails with a tall blond handsome man and after learning about an impending surgery, a funeral burial and past debts, and sending money for him to visit her in Australia, the victims family FINALLY put an end to it and pulled the plug.  What authorities found out was the person receiving all of this money was a divorced father of two who made a living doing these scams out of an internet café in ..yeah.. Nigeria. 

Last month, we talked about web 2.0 and how fast information spreads now.  Whether it is to check a tweet on your cell phone or knowing what's happening to a friend in Rome through facebook, we are able to send and receive messages at an alarming rate.  Last in 2006, myspace got whacked with a computer worm that would direct people to the wrong webpages that they were trying to get to and was designed to take login and password information from the users.  This was a precursor to what could happen.  Later analysis revealed that over 70% of phishing scams on a social network site had a high success rate.  I almost got taken for a ride when I got an email from paypal about a transaction I had done the day before.  What gave it away was the email came to another email I don’t use for paypal.  But when I clicked it, it took me to a website and it sure looked real!  But almost immediately, I took a good antivirus scrubber and cleaned my computer out ASAP. 

How do we prevent it?  That’s pretty easy.  Use common sense.
• If a bank you never opened an account with before asks you for information, don’t even reply.
• If someone is asking you to correct your paypal account, then go to www.paypal.com and give them a phone call to verify it. 
• Don’t ever give out your personal information on the internet.  Even if it means you can get a free subscription to MAXIM magazine for a year.  Or better yet, you can always use an alias to order your free magazine.  When I get freebies from the internet, they are all almost ordered as coming from Yasuo FREE.  Of course my last name isn’t free but it doesn’t hurt.  That way, when the database gets sold to a third party, I know I don’t need to pay attention to it and flag that as spam.
• Mac vs. Windows.  Doesn’t matter.  Phishing scams come through email. 
• Truth vs. reality.  If in doubt, go to snopes.com and verify if you experience or email you received is real or not.
• Look for mis spellings or grammatical errors.  These scams usually originate from countries where English isn’t the first language! 
• Hovering over links to show an email address works sometimes.  Not all of the times.  I wouldn’t use this strategy to determine anything.
• Ignorance is bliss.  Learn to ignore every single solicitation.  Especially ones that ask for personal information.
• Install the latest security policies and patches from Microsoft by going to www.windowsupdate.windows.com

What happens if you got nailed?
• Call your bank or financial institution
• Watch your statements and verify every transaction very closely.
• Put a fraud alert on your credit

Whats next?
• As much as you want to nail the person who is phishing you, just ignore it.  Unless you actually do suffer financial losses.  Then immediately get in touch with your Financial Institution.
• Let your friends know that there are people out there with false information and false agendas.  The only way to get more people to pay attention to the uglies of the WORLDWIDE WEB is to put everyone on notice.

Having a good time on the computer should not be a painful experience.  Have fun, enjoy and most of all, don’t be afraid of the computer!  It’s a great tool to have around your house and oh, if you DO know of any good fishing spots, I am still waiting to get my first ULUA.  Send me email!  And until next month, HANAPA’A!