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Phishing scams
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What is phishing?
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Phishing is the practice of sending emails masquerading as a trustworthy company in order to acquire user passwords, personal information or credit card details for fraudulent purposes. Common examples are emails supposedly from banks, social networking sites such as Facebook, and online auction sites like eBay.
The emails usually ask you to update or verify your customer account information. You are asked to click on a link, which will take you to a bogus website, which looks like the legitimate one of the company in question. |
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How can I tell if a website isn't genuine?
Whenever you visit a site, always look at the URL (website address) in the address bar. This is the thin, long box at the top of the page where you type in the website you want to visit. Check the domain name (the main site name, written in bold here: www.holidaylettings.co.uk) and the .co.uk/.com part of the website. Check that the website name has the correct spelling - misspelling is a common phishing technique. Be aware of any additional text tagged on after the main site name and before the .co.uk/.com. Such text is known as a sub domain name. For example, a bogus website would be: http://www.holidaylettings.worldwide.co.uk. Make sure you know what ending the website should have and check for different letters in the .co.uk/.com part of the site. If the site doesn't end in .co.uk or .com, it doesn't mean the site isn't genuine - for example google.fr is the French version of Google. However, you should ensure that the ending is the one the website you are familiar with uses - www.holidaylettings.bookhere.ru would not be associated with holidaylettings.co.uk.
What should I be aware of when receiving emails from holidaylettings.co.uk?
We do not generally send out emails with attachments. If you receive an email from holidaylettings.co.uk with a suspicious attachment, do not open it. Contact us to confirm whether or not the email is genuine. We will never ask you to log into any site other than holidaylettings.co.uk to change your advert and personal details. The only place you will have to log in is: www.holidaylettings.co.uk/logon.asp We will never ask you for your password unless you are logging in to make a change to your account details. As a security measure, we do not send out emails containing your password. Neither do we display your password in any visible place. If you forget your password and wish to be reminded of it you can send an email request from the login page. We will never request payment anywhere other than on www.holidaylettings.co.uk. All payments will be confirmed by email to the address you specify.
I use other sites as well as holidaylettings.co.uk. How can I protect myself from phishing generally?
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For Firefox:
Make sure you have version 3. Firefox has some inbuilt security features. To ensure these are activated, click on 'Tools' at the top of the page. Then select 'Options' and then 'Security'. Make sure the top three check boxes are ticked and that you haven't selected the option to remember any passwords. You should see a box similar to that shown on the right.
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For Internet Explorer:
Version 8 is the most up to date. Windows Update will automatically check that you have the latest version. Click on 'Tools' and select 'Windows Update'. If a newer version is available, it will ask you if you want to install it. Internet Explorer 7 also has some inbuilt security features, such as a phishing filter and a tool to clear cached (remembered) passwords and data. These features can be found by clicking on 'Tools' and selecting them from the menu displayed (as in the image to the right). For more details see: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/features.mspx. |
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You can also download a third party, free service: McAfee SiteAdvisor. This works in both Firefox and Internet Explorer and tells you if McAfee, a provider of Internet security serviced and products, has found any security risks or problems for the site you are using.
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