If you use the Chrome Browser, you will want to read this article on possible phishing protection:
Since Chrome will be doing extra work in scanning for phishing attempts, I wonder if this feature will somewhat slow down one's browsing experience? Best way to find out, I guess, is to try it, which I plan to do.
Jim Hamm
For your information, and something to be aware of, Firefox and Chrome browsers are possibly vulnerable to a phishing attack. Here is an article with more info. The article states the vulnerability doesn't affect the Safari or Internet Explorer browsers. It doesn't mention the Edge browser, one way or the other.
Jim Hamm
This information is always worth repeating. The following was captured from the Prescott Computer Society (pcs4me.com) Messenger. The first 7 items were originally written by Kathy Frey, Member, Computer Club of Green Valley, AZ, (www.ccgvaz.org) as found in the Summer 2015 edition of Green Bytes, the club newsletter. At one time or another we all will be a victim of some form of Cybercrime and Phishing. The use of any preventive product is of little help if you don't practice safe computing. Help protect yourself:
1. Watch out for "phishy" emails. The most common form of phishing is emails pretending to be from a legitimate retailer, bank, organization, or government agency. Delete them. Do not open them.
2. Don't click on links within emails that ask for your personal information.
3. Beware of "pharming." This was also known as redirect. In this version of online ID theft, a virus or malicious program is secretly planted in your computer and hijacks your Web browser. When you type in the address of a legitimate Web site, you're taken to a fake site without realizing it. Malicious programs can be either spyware, adware or malware. Run your spyware scanning programs. Malwarebytes is a recommended program.
4. Never enter your personal information in a popup screen.
5. Only open email attachments if you're expecting them and know what they contain.
6. Phishing also happens by phone. You may get a call from someone pretending to be from a company or government agency, making various kinds of false claims and asking for your personal information. Quite often it is about some problem with your computer. There is no way they can possibly know if you even own a computer. If you have caller ID, screen your calls, and do not answer calls from phone numbers you do not recognize.
7. If someone contacts you and says you've been a victim of fraud, verify the person's identity before you provide any personal information. Get a phone number and call them back. Or call who they are supposed to represent and ask if that business is making those kinds of calls.
8. Report phishing, whether you're a victim or not. Tell the company or agency that the phisher was impersonating.
9. Don't be embarrassed, take action immediately if you've been hooked by a phisher. If you provided account numbers, PINS, or passwords to a phisher, notify the companies with whom you have the accounts right away. For information about how to put a "fraud alert" on your files at the credit reporting bureaus, contact the Federal Trade Commission's ID Theft Clearinghouse, www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
Most Recent Scam Alerts from the Federal Trade Commission: (For the following articles, paste the title into a search bar in your browser) Stand up to fake debt collectors - April 10, 2015 Unlocking the code - April 3, 2015 The FTC didn’t send that sweepstakes letter - April 2, 2015 Scammers play name game and get caught - March 27, 2015 An invoice today gets the doctor to pay - March 26, 2015 Reluctant to be rude? - March 25, 2015 Don’t pay for a vacation to nowhere - March 19, 2015 It’s the IRS calling…or is it? - March 12, 2015 Cleaning up without getting cleaned out - March 6, 2015
10. When shopping online be careful and look for boxes that are pre-checked for you to receive offers from them or their partners. Be sure to uncheck the boxes and opt-out if you don't want to receive any communications. Even legitimate retailers count on you not unchecking the boxes to opt-out.
Get an email from Apple? A local news channel posted yesterday, 4-2-15 at 4:31 pm their "3 On Your Side" looked into the issue and confirmed it was a phishing scam. Keep informed, take a look: http://www.azfamily.com/story/28710752/3oys-warning-scammers-using-apple-to-dupe-you?autostart=true
'Tis the season to be concerned about taxes, filing papers, paying. An email purporting to be from the Urban Institute had links to open to change your password on tax forms. Before you click to give anyone any such information see what the IRS has to say: IRS Completes the "Dirty Dozen" Tax Scams for 2015 and see http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing
After hearing from David Passell posted on 9-3, we all are on alert for the bad stuff. A few days later here comes an email to "editor" of this blog, asking for the password to be reset. Avoiding the obvious, it was time to phone directly to Apple for help from a living person. Finally, a person to talk with! The man agreed that since the return address on the email was from "orders@tunes.co.uk" it was BAD. He directed me to forward that email to reportphishing@icloud.com and so that's that.
Another phishing scam has surfaced. David Passell sends a copy of an email from CableONE, instructing customers to "please disregard any mail you receive that contains the following message, as it is a phishing scam: 'Your account is due and needs to be upgraded immediately. Please review billing details and upgrade or we will disconnect you from services.'" It goes on to detail a false link that is NOT a CableONE webpage. Here is more info from Cable ONE Cable ONE Support Site
The email he received in his daily list had the catchy title of "No sign-up needed: Manage your money online." But David Passell did the sensible, careful thing. Instead of clicking to open the possible phish he went on-line directly to the Credit Union website. Better to be suspicious than to automatically open all the email you receive.
Another big time warning from Jim Hamm: "Here is yet another variation of a phishing scam using Google Docs. As always, exercise caution when clicking a link in an email. The hackers are getting ever more sophisticated in their nefarious endeavors."
Heads up for this latest warning from Jim Hamm. He notifies us, "Here's something just to be aware of." http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/beware-of-new-phishing-email-claiming-to-be-from-apple
After you check this out pass the word along to others you know.
This is not a new posting at TruthorFiction, but it still applies and might give you helpful information. Go to http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/phishing.htm and scroll down to “Crooks Using Clever Schemes to Try to Get Your Personal Financial Information.” It quotes seven different emails so you can protect yourself if you receive some similar email.
Remember you can click on Reader at the right side of the address bar and print out just the information without all the ads. After going to Reader then you can click to Print and you can also choose to save it as a PDF on the menu that comes up and you can direct it to “Mail as a PDF.”
Here's a quick quiz that can identify in a few minutes how good you are at telling the difference between a phishing attempt and a legitimate website. Thanks to John Carter for finding this helpful opportunity to outsmart the scammers.