SonicWALL, Inc., a leading provider of network, Web, email security and backup and recovery solutions, has issued a new set of guidelines to help users avoid online fraud during the holiday season. SonicWALL data indicates that the volume of spam, the prime delivery mechanism for security threats and scams, rose more than threefold during 2006. Although public awareness of phishing is growing, the risk to consumers continues to rise. A recent survey by Gartner Group indicates that the average catch by phishers increased almost five-fold, from $257 per victim last year to $1,244 in 2006.
"Phishers manipulate an individual's trust in a brand, a company, or a person to persuade or scare them into revealing sensitive information. Phishing attacks using well known brand names tend to spike during the holiday season, but it's a year-round problem," says Gleb Budman, senior director of Email Security at SonicWALL. "Anyone using email is a potential victim at any time of year, so it's important to keep abreast of avoidance techniques."
SonicWALL's top 10 guidelines for mitigating online risk are:
1. If you are not a customer of the company that appears to be sending
you an email, ignore it.
2. Even if you are a customer, never respond directly to an email request
from a company for personal or financial information, especially if
you are asked to provide your Social Security number. Instead, verify
the authenticity of the request by using an email or telephone contact
that you know is legitimate.
3. Never go to a web site from a link in an email. Instead, open up a new
browser window and enter URLs that you know to be legitimate directly
into your browser.
4. Distrust emails demanding an immediate response. Many phishing scams
succeed by creating a false sense of urgency.
5. Check your credit card and bank statements immediately after receipt.
Look for charges or transactions that you don't expect, even small
ones. Cybercriminals often test their victims by stealing a nominal
sum first, before going for bigger prizes.
6. If you think you have unwittingly supplied sensitive information to a
possible fraudster, tell your bank and credit card companies
immediately that you might be at risk. They will work with you to
prevent your information from being used against you.
7. Look out for look alikes. Many undesirable sites rely on commonly
mistyped URLs to lure the unsuspecting. These sites are hotbeds of
threats like keystroke loggers, spyware and spam.
8. Don't download email attachments unless you trust the sender
completely.
9. Become familiar with the tricks of the trade so you can spot
fraudulent emails. Take SonicWALL's free Phishing IQ test
(http://www.sonicwall.com/phishing/) and learn from the results
analysis how to tell a phish from a legitimate email. Or listen to
the Phishing Patrol podcasts on http://www.sonicwall.com/alert/, six
short tutorials on practical steps that users can take to help protect
themselves.
10. Stay up to date. Make sure your operating system and critical
security software applications -- such as anti-spam, anti-phishing,
anti-virus and anti-spyware -- are current.
"Every individual needs to recognize that good security practices are a necessary part of using the Internet," concludes Budman. "Cybercriminals exploit our sense of trust, and count on the fact that many of us leave computer security to other organizations rather than taking personal responsibility for keeping safe online. Protect yourself to ensure this remains a happy holiday season."
By SonicWALL
Posted December 25th, 2006 by Nymphadora
