The first phishing lawsuit was filed in 2004 against a California teenager who created the imitation of the “America Online” website. With this fake website, he was able to get sensitive information from users and access credit card details to withdraw money from their accounts. In addition to email and website phishing, there are also “vishing,” smishing, and other phishing techniques that cybercriminals are constantly developing. If you think you`re the target of a phishing campaign, the first step is to report it to the right people. In a corporate network, it`s best to report this to IT staff to review the message and determine if it`s a targeted campaign. Individuals can report fraud and phishing to the FTC. Here is an example of a phishing email organization shared by the international sender FedEx on its website. In this email, recipients were asked to print a copy of an attached postal receipt and bring it to a FedEx location to receive a package that could not be delivered. Unfortunately, the attachment contained a virus that infected the recipients` computers. Variations in these shipping scams are especially common during the holiday shopping season, although they are observed year-round. Another popular approach to combating phishing is to keep a list of known phishing websites and check the websites against the list.
One of these services is the Safe Browsing service. [153] Web browsers such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox 2.0, Safari 3.2, and Opera all include this type of anti-phishing measure. [154] [155] [156] [157] [158] Firefox 2 used Google`s anti-phishing software. Opera 9.1 uses live blacklists from Phishtank, Cyscon and GeoTrust, as well as live whitelists from GeoTrust. Some implementations of this approach send visited URLs to a central service for review, which has raised privacy concerns. [159] According to a Mozilla report in late 2006, Firefox 2 was found to be more effective than Internet Explorer 7 at detecting fraudulent websites in a study by an independent software testing company. [160] A recent study tested the susceptibility of certain age groups to harpoon. In total, 100 young users and 58 older users received simulated phishing emails for 21 days every day without their knowledge. A browser plugin recorded their click on links in emails as an indicator of their vulnerability. Forty-three percent of users succumbed to simulated phishing emails, with older women having the highest vulnerability. While susceptibility decreased in younger users throughout the study, susceptibility remained stable in older users.
[22] When it comes to reporting URL phishing websites, the landscape is fragmented as many security companies collect their own data and don`t necessarily share it. If you detect a fake URL, the first step is to notify your IT department, who can block it and begin the remediation steps. A company that succumbs to such an attack usually suffers serious financial losses in addition to the decline in its market share, reputation and consumer confidence. Depending on the scope, a phishing attempt can escalate into a security incident from which a company can hardly recover. The methods used by attackers to gain access to a Microsoft 365 email account are quite simple and are becoming the most common. These phishing campaigns usually take the form of a fake email from Microsoft. The email includes a login prompt stating that the user needs to reset their password, has not logged in recently, or that there is a problem with the account that needs their attention. A URL is included that prompts the user to click to resolve the issue. SMS phishing[31] or smishing[32][33] is conceptually similar to email phishing, except that attackers use cell phone text messages to deliver “bait.” [34] Smishing attacks typically prompt the user to click on a link, call a phone number, or contact an email address provided by the attacker via SMS. The victim is then asked to provide their private data; Often, credentials for other websites or services.
Also, URLs may not be fully displayed due to the nature of mobile browsers. This can make it more difficult to identify an illegitimate login page. [35] Since the mobile market is now saturated with smartphones, all of which have a fast internet connection, a malicious link sent by SMS can give the same result as if it were sent by email. Smishing messages can come from phone numbers that are in a strange or unexpected format. [36] Phishing is a type of social engineering attack commonly used to steal user data, including credentials and credit card numbers. This happens when an attacker posing as a trusted entity tricks a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message. The recipient is then tricked into clicking on a malicious link, which can lead to the installation of malware, the freezing of the system as part of a ransomware attack, or the disclosure of sensitive information. From there, the employee is asked to complete a survey on the right time to switch to a link. This link then takes the victim to a fake sign-in page for Office 365 or Microsoft Outlook.
Once they enter your credentials, scammers steal their password. On January 26, 2004, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed the first lawsuit against an alleged phisher. The accused, a California teenager, allegedly created a website purporting to resemble the America Online website and used it to steal credit card information. [184] Other countries have followed suit by tracking down and arresting phishers. A phishing baron, Valdir Paulo de Almeida, has been arrested in Brazil for running one of the largest criminal phishing networks, stealing between $18 million and $37 million in two years. [185] In June 2005, British authorities arrested two men for their role in a phishing scam.[186] The Secret Service firewall operation, which targeted notorious “Carder” websites. [187] In 2006, eight people were arrested by Japanese police on suspicion of phishing fraud by creating fake Yahoo Japan websites and earning 100 million yen ($870,000).
[188] The arrests continued in 2006 when the FBI`s Operation Cardkeeper arrested a gang of sixteen people in the United States and Europe. [189] Criminals have registered dozens of domains that eBay has spoofed and PayPal good enough for them to look like a real thing if you don`t pay enough attention to them. PayPal customers then received phishing emails (with links to the fake website) asking them to update their credit card numbers and other personally identifiable information. The first known phishing attack on a bank was reported by The Banker (a publication owned by the Financial Times Ltd.) in September 2003. Cat fishing (written with an “f”) is a type of online deception in which a person creates a social media presence as a sock puppet or fictional character online to lure someone into a relationship – usually romantic – to receive money, gifts or attention. Catphishing (written with a “ph”) is similar, but with the intention of obtaining a relationship and (therefore) access to information and/or resources over which the ignorant target has rights. Cybercriminals also use phishing attacks to directly access email, social media, and other accounts, or to obtain permissions to modify and compromise connected systems such as point-of-sale terminals and order fulfillment systems. Many of the biggest data breaches, like the 2013 target breach, which made headlines, start with a phishing email. By using a seemingly innocent email, cybercriminals can gain a foothold and rely on it. To prevent phishing messages from reaching end users, experts recommend overlaying security controls, including: The United States. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working with the Anti-Phishing Task Force to create a collection of phishing emails and fake website addresses.