DragnSlayrF31
08-25-2004, 01:33 PM
I'm a real idiot when it comes to the internet and computers. Because of this I watch Screen Savers on TechTV to learn things about the internet and my computer.
Today's subject though I thought I would share b/c I just got one of these emails and went to the link supplied in the email but I didn't do anything further b/c when I went to the actual CitiBank site it didn't ask for the same information.
Basically, these emails are spoofing internet pages to make them look real and official - but if you look at the entire URL you see you aren't where you are supposed to be. I'm an idiot, like I said, so I don't look at URLs. If the page looks real, I'll fall into the trap. They ask for your credit card number, your mother's maiden name, your ACS code on the back of your card, all sorts of things so they can turn around and use the card online to purchase things. The links they provide are quite clever and so are the emails - they say your card is about to expire at PayPal and you click on the link and it takes you to a page that looks just like the PayPal page but you are in an entirely different location altogether.
But YEEHAW! Screen Savers told me how to avoid these rip-offs scamming emails with a program called Spoof Stick. They have a version for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Spoof Stick (http://www.corestreet.com/spoofstick/)
Never more be led to unknown sites to give up personal information. IT's pretty cool b/c you can see exactly where you are in the toolbar. Like right now, my tool bar says, "You're on buccaneers.com" Not that I didn't know that, but it's pretty cool when you click blindly in emails. :D
Check it out!!
Today's subject though I thought I would share b/c I just got one of these emails and went to the link supplied in the email but I didn't do anything further b/c when I went to the actual CitiBank site it didn't ask for the same information.
Basically, these emails are spoofing internet pages to make them look real and official - but if you look at the entire URL you see you aren't where you are supposed to be. I'm an idiot, like I said, so I don't look at URLs. If the page looks real, I'll fall into the trap. They ask for your credit card number, your mother's maiden name, your ACS code on the back of your card, all sorts of things so they can turn around and use the card online to purchase things. The links they provide are quite clever and so are the emails - they say your card is about to expire at PayPal and you click on the link and it takes you to a page that looks just like the PayPal page but you are in an entirely different location altogether.
But YEEHAW! Screen Savers told me how to avoid these rip-offs scamming emails with a program called Spoof Stick. They have a version for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Spoof Stick (http://www.corestreet.com/spoofstick/)
Never more be led to unknown sites to give up personal information. IT's pretty cool b/c you can see exactly where you are in the toolbar. Like right now, my tool bar says, "You're on buccaneers.com" Not that I didn't know that, but it's pretty cool when you click blindly in emails. :D
Check it out!!