Phish, or phishing, is a rapidly growing form of fraud that seeks to fool Web users into divulging private information by mimicking a legitimate Web site.
In a typical scenario, unsuspecting users get an urgent sounding (and authentic looking) email telling them there is a problem with their account that they must immediately fix to avoid account termination. The email will include a URL to a Web site that looks exactly like the real thing. It is simple to copy a legitimate email and a legitimate Web site but then change the so-called backend, which receives the collected data.
The email tells the user to log on to the site and confirm some account information. A hacker receives data a user provides, such as a logon name, password, credit card number, or social security number. See a sample email message >>
Phish fraud is fast, cheap, and easy to perpetuate. It is also potentially quite lucrative for those criminals who practice it. Phish is hard for even computer-savvy users to detect. And it is hard for law enforcement to track down. Worse, it is almost impossible to prosecute.
Please report to Trend Micro any Web site you suspect to be a phishing site.