What is phishing?
Phishing attacks involve the mass distribution
of 'spoofed' email messages with return addresses,
links, and branding which appear to come from
banks, insurance agencies, retailers or credit
card companies. These fraudulent messages are
designed to fool the recipients into divulging
personal authentication data such as account usernames
and passwords, credit card numbers, identity card
numbers, etc.
It is also reported that the phishers may also
use a victim's personal information to create
fake accounts and ruin the victim's credit. Because
these emails look "official", some recipients
may respond to them, resulting in financial losses,
identity theft, and other fraudulent activity.
In Hong Kong, there is also a
number of reported phishing attacks.
A list of reference sites about phishing can
be found in the Useful
Links.
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