Phishers Hooking Employers for $2 Billion Each Year

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that thieves posing as legitimate businesses send 75-150 million fake emails daily, a practice is known as “phishing.” These scam artists are looking for financial and personal information that will allow them to steal the identity and money of their victims. Candace Heckman, “Phishing finds victims even among savvy computer users,” seattlepi.nwsource.com (May 1, 2006).

Claiming to represent a legitimate business such as a bank or the IRS, the phisher sends out emails asking the reader to follow a hyperlink to update or verify his or her personal information. If the person receiving the email clicks on the link but never submits any information, the phisher may still be able to capture important data from the victim’s computer.

The FTC claimed that in 2005, consumers lost $929 million to these cons, and businesses suffered losses of $2 billion.

Phishers are not only after the financial information of individuals; the FTC numbers reveal that they are successful in obtaining financial information from businesses as well…$2 billion in losses for 2005 alone.

Any person in charge of an organization’s financial accounts and any person in charge of employee social security numbers are possible targets.

Beware of any email requesting updated financial information. These requests will often appear to come from sites with which you do business, including your financial institutions, and will create the “look and feel” of your institution’s website by incorporating their colors, logos. and disclosure information.

The best method to stop phishing from impacting you is to never respond to emails requesting financial information about you, your organization, or your employees.

When you receive emails asking for such information, do not open the email or any attachment; instead, forward it unopened to a representative of the institution it is reputed to be from and ask if the email is legitimate.