image is taken in courtesy of: http://ig.libertyonline.net/ImageGallery/Custom/cu0868/Large/Phishing.jpg
As the
internet progresses on from web 1.0 to web 2.0, it has become easier for crimes
and frauds to be committed online. Among the commonly known cybercrimes, such
as laptop theft, computer system abuse and online information theft, the latter
is the most common type of cybercrimes committed globally.
Before the
proliferation of the internet, the only way for criminals to steal a person’s
personal information was to intercept their mail or eavesdrop on their
conversation. All of these could be easily detected by the victims or passersby
who happen to witness the criminals committing the crime.
However, as
we are living in a century where globalization and the internet had taken a
foothold of society, criminals no longer need to be present at the scene to
gather private information of an individual. Without a doubt, the proliferation
of the internet has enabled more criminals to commit illegal activities online
with little fear of getting arrested.
Phishing
image is taken in courtesy of :
http://hackingwithahmed.blogspot.sg/2013/01/hack-facebook-using-phishing.html
http://hackingwithahmed.blogspot.sg/2013/01/hack-facebook-using-phishing.html
Phishing is
one the most common illegal activities that take place online. In the first
half of 2011, PayPal was reported as the most targeted domain for phishing
attacks with a recorded 34,209 attacks.
There are
two types of phishing which an attacker uses to target their victims. One type
of phishing, known as mass phishing, takes place when a criminal randomly
chooses it victims. Phishers place baits on several victims at once, in hopes
that one of them may fall prey to its hoax. On the other hand, spear phishing
is an attack in which victims with high value assets are specifically targeted.
In this case, the phisher may make multiple detailed attempts to steal information
from his/her chosen victims. As the victims who are targeted usually posse
valuable information or assets, phishers who are targeting this group of
victims are expected to be more meticulous and possibly, more experienced
phishers. Despite the long wait and small number of targeted victims, phishers
who engage in spear phishing tend to receive greater yields than mass phishing.
Overall, an attacker can expect a 150,000 dollar profit from a spear phishing
attack as opposed to netting 14,000 dollars from a mass phishing campaigns. In
certain cases, spear phishers may also target specific organizations with
higher rates of returns.
There are a
few ways for phishers to obtain personal information illegally online.
Firstly, there
are a group of phishers who would create a domain or use an inactive existing domain
to trick internet users into falling for their scams. Besides convincing to get
users to submit their information through various domains and websites,
phishers also make use of spam emails to get users to divulge information about
them. Most of the time, these emails would be marked as unsafe, junk mail by
the email account system. However, many inexperienced internet users would
still fall for these scams, especially when it contains company logos and emails
that appear to be genuine and professional.
Online Spying…Shhhs….
Another way
in which information is stolen online is through the use of spyware. According
to several online sources, spyware is a software that helps criminals to obtain
personal information from a third party. These include the use of system
monitors, tracking cookies, adware and Trojans. By using spyware, criminals can
easily obtain information from users without them knowing.
Unlike phishing,
experienced internet users can also be victims of online spying as it is
difficult to detect spies because of its omnipresence. Spywares are easily
found on websites, making it challenging for users to monitor them. Unless
computer users install anti-spyware softwares and consistently deletes their
tracking cookies, it is almost impossible to protect themselves from being
victims of spyware.
In
comparison to computer viruses and worms, spyware do not duplicate itself.
Hence, it would hardly affect the computer system after it has been removed.
References:
http://www.allspammedup.com/2012/09/phishing-a-look-inside-the-statistics/
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