Sometimes you may get a strange looking email from your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or your bank saying that you need to re-validate your email and or account. They will often ask for your username and password. DO NOT click on the link in the email or reply to the email!
These emails are 99% of the time fake emails sent out by phishing companies to get access to your accounts.
According to Wikipedia “Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging,[1] and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users,[2] and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies.[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.”
The best way to deal with them? Contact your bank/ISP or the company the email is reportedly from and ask them if they sent you the email. Most don’t contact you by email asking for these details. PayPal has an email address you can report spam emails to and has more information on their website.
A great way to check the link in the email is to hover your mouse over the link in the email. Does it show the actual web address that the email say they are from (eg Paypal is https://www.paypal.com/; Commonwealth Bank is http://www.commbank.com.au/; iiNet is http://www.iinet.net.au/)
After that – delete them. Mark them as spam. Whatever you do, don’t click the link.
