Phishing, don't get caught ...

I know many of you out there have a webshop attached to your blog, or make purchases from the internet.

A message for anyone who uses Paypal as a form of sending and receiving payment, is to be aware of an e-mail which has recently come to the surface.

Today, I looked into a recent message to my web address which somehow slipped through the net of our internet security, with an attachment download to fill in sensitive information, saying it was necessary to restore my Paypal account access, threatening a shutdown of my account if they received no reply.

Even though it appeared credible, there was just something, well, fishy about it!

Phishing is a form of web forgery designed to steal your identity, usually for financial gain.

One of the most common 'phishing' scams involves sending a fraudulent e-mail that appears to be from a trusted company or brand. This e-mail then directs you to a fake version of a well-known website and records any information you enter, such as your password, financial details and more.

Remember, Paypal will never e-mail you asking for your:

Credit or debit card numbers
Bank account numbers
Driving licence numbers
E-mail addresses
Passwords
Your full name
Postal address
An e-mail from Paypal will never contain an attachment

Paypal will only ever ask you to enter personal details on the secure Paypal website, after you have safely logged in to your Paypal account.

Parts of this post may appear witty, but to be caught out is really no joke. Your identity can be left open to every degree of fraudster.

o