Literally, phishing is a type of e-mail that asks you to give out your personal information (name, account number, credit card number along with its PIN, etc). These emails usually look like regular e-mails, often telling of some security problems and asking you to “confirm” your personal data. As these e-mails authors use social engineering methods along with technical means to make the mail look just like the real one, it is easy to get hooked.
How to avoid phishing
The answer is short and simple: don’t send your personal data and your credit card number in an e-mail. No real bank will ever ask you to do that, no matter the circumstances. If the e-mail you’ve received looks really convincing then you should check if it’s real by calling your bank before sending anything.
There is also one more thing you can use to determine if the e-mail has really come from the bank or it is an attempt at phishing. Almost all bank correspondence is personalized, while almost all phishing e-mails are very general. If there is neither your name nor your account number mentioned in the mail you’ve received, it is a good chance it’s a phishing attempt.
What to do if you have become a phishing victim
If you think you have been tricked into giving out your vital information, the procedure is drastic, but simple: cancel your credit card (if you’ve sent it’s number to the thieves), cancel your bank account and open a new one (if you’ve given out it’s number)… and do it as quickly as possible - because until you do it, all transactions made are considered valid and the money is lost. If the information leak was a little less serious in nature, like loosing the control over your e-Bay or e-mail account, attempt to change their passwords and passwords’ hints immediately. If it is no longer possible, contact the Administrator and let them do the rest of the job (they’ll probably force the change of password and send them to you).
