Beware of phishers on prowl

Oly Banerjee, INN/Gwalior, @Infodeaofficial

Social networking platforms are an effective means to obtain desired information, search for employment and much more. But an ounce of caution while using these platforms will save you from lot of trouble.

‘LinkedIn’ is one such example, it is among one of the top websites, where the number of subscribers are increasing day by day. It serves as a great way to look out for jobs and internships. However, LinkedIn turns out to be the haven for cyber criminals, and most of the cyber attacks are carried out by the means of ‘Phishing.’

But ever wondered, what ‘phishing’ exactly is? According to Phishing.org, it is a cyber crime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as banking details or passwords, which can potentially prove risky in the future, resulting in bank thefts or similar larceny.

In recent years, a team of online security researchers have discovered an ongoing phishing network on LinkedIn. This network usually works by sending service message which endorses LinkedIn logo and sends identical looking emails. These emails contain malware hyperlinks into false notification that resembles actual LinkedIn connections requests.

And once the users click on the link, they are redirected to a malware login page, which is designed to look like LinkedIn. According to the reports of zdnet.com, based on a sample of 3 million users collected over a period of 3 months, approximately 45% of the time, users submitted their login informations to the phishing site they visited.

It is done by using specific links, which expire once clicked or used. This hacking approach is so camouflaged, that it succeeds to escape the spam protectors or anti-viruses of the PC as well.

Last year, a phishing scheme came into light, in which US Ambassador and former Iowa Governer Terry Branstad’s name’s false LinkedIn account, requested Tom Conley, president and Chief Executive Officer of The Conley Group for money to assist with an urgent family matter.