There has been an increase in devious scam emails lately and the newest ones have been specifically targeting senior citizens. These “phishing” attacks consist of sending an email to someone claiming to be from the Social Security Office, stating that there is a problem with your social security account, and then providing the victim an HTML link to a fraudulent Web site designed to appear like the Official Social Security Administration Web site. When the victim visits the fraudulent Web site there is a log in screen for the victim to enter personal information in a guise to correct a serious problem with their social security account. The information provided is then received by the attackers and used for identity theft.
Although the FBI has not yet caught the perpetrators of these attacks, it is suspected that an organized criminal element is involved. This is just another example of how criminals are targeting senior citizens using computer technology. I personally find this activity reprehensible and I believe the general public would be just as outraged if they really understood what is going on and how these attacks work. The main problem is the public's lack of education about computer and Internet related security issues, especially among senior citizens.
The current attack device mentioned, known as “phishing”, has other very serious consequences for the victim based on the method of attack and could lead to total violation of all of the victim's personal information entered on any Web site form, not just on the fraudulent site. These types of attacks and other scams are examined in Lesson 7 Email Security Basics in the Online Course
Computer and Internet Security Basics.
Please spread the word and make sure your loved ones are aware of this new Social Security Scam attack and avoid falling victim to this bogus email. For more information about how to protect yourself and your love ones from computer related identity theft, visit
www.computersecuritybasics.com.
Martin Connell is an Information Technology Security Specialist and the author and producer of Computer and Internet Security Basics
B.S. Information Technology Security from Western Governors University
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CIW Database Design Specialist
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