Watching out online,

With more and more consumers turning to online markets to get most of their holiday shopping done, its important to be aware of what transactions and information you are using online. Many scams are conducted via email in the guise of bank or PayPal concerns or requests for information or confirmations. Do not be fooled into replying to these, as doing so can result identity or monetary theft in some form. Recently, I came across a great resource when it comes to dealing with these issues. This website, called Anti-Phishing provides information, archives, and mapping on these online crimes, called "phishing" or "pharming." According to their main page:

"What is Phishing and Pharming?
Phishing attacks use both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers' personal identity data and financial account credentials. Social-engineering schemes use 'spoofed' e-mails to lead consumers to counterfeit websites designed to trick recipients into divulging financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords and social security numbers. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers and credit card companies, phishers often convince recipients to respond. Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal credentials directly, often using Trojan keylogger spyware. Pharming crimeware misdirects users to fraudulent sites or proxy servers, typically through DNS hijacking or poisoning."


They even provide a reporting service, where you can email attacks you come across to reportphishing@antiphishing.com.