Phishing -- What You Need to Know

Learn what search engine phishing is and how to prevent it

Most computer savvy people know about phishing, how it steals identities and wreaks havoc with your personal finances and credit ratings. To prevent phishing, it pays to know the different types. Search engine phishing is one of the most commonly used types of phishing. Learn what it is and how to prevent it.

Search Engine Phishing

With search engine phishing scams, phishers create web pages for fake products. After search engines index the web page, they sit and patiently wait for unsuspecting customers to enter their confidential information as part of an order, sign-up, or balance transfer.

One tactic these sites use to get customers to sign up or make these purchases is an almost 'to good to be true' price. This happens often with fraudulent banks. The website creates a page that advertises an interest rate slightly higher than any real banks. Victims, anxious to get this great interest rate, enter their bank account information for a balance transfer to their new account. 
Unfortunately, their new account doesn't really exist. They just became involved in a phishing scam and sending their money to a thief.

When you aren't the victim, it's easy to sit back and ask why anyone would fall for these tactics. The truth is, it happens all the time. Victims anxious to get the best deal or the best interest rate will jump at the chance. Government records show cases where some victims provided their information for fraudulent banks with names like 'Flintstone National Bank' of 'Bedrock, Colorado'. Sad but true.

To prevent search engine phishing from happening to you, be vigilant and wary. Think before you click and never trust any site that has offers that seem just too good to be true. The truth is... they are.