Data Breach Abney and Associates on Phishing Scams News: Target Data Breach could Result in Phishing Scams

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Data Breach Abney and Associates on Phishing
Scams News Target Data Breach could Result in
Phishing Scams
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MUNCIE If you did any Christmas shopping at
Target, youve probably had at least twinges of
concern with each new report of the fallout from
hackers having stolen credit and debit card
information from the stores files during that
period.   Customer names, mailing addresses,
phone numbers or email addresses for up to 70
million people were stolen from the retail
chains system in a breach discovered in
mid-December, according to the Target website.  
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In addition to keeping an eye out for suspicious
charges on their accounts, consumers are being
warned of another potential attack stemming from
the information theft.   STAR Financial Bank last
week sent out a warning about email phishing
scams related to the data breach. Phishing
attacks use spoofed e-mails (messages from forged
addresses, often made to look as if they come
from a bank, online retailer or similar business)
and fraudulent websites designed to fool
recipients into divulging personal financial
data, a release from STAR stated.
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Almost anyone using email probably gets the
occasional suspicious message purportedly from a
bank, business or social media site checking on
their personal or account information. But those
whose information was stolen in the Target data
break could be particular targets for current
phishing attempts, warned Michael Krouse, STARs
information security officer.   The American
Bankers Association and STAR offer these tips for
avoiding becoming the victim of a phishing scam
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If you have responded to a spoofed email,
contact your bank immediately so they can protect
your account and identity.   Never give out
your personal or financial information in
response to an unsolicited phone call, fax or
email, no matter how official it seems. Do not
respond to emails that warn of dire consequences
unless you validate your information immediately.
Use a telephone number or web address you know to
be legitimate not any links or contact info
from the email to contact the company to
confirm the emails validity.
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Delete email and text messages that ask you to
confirm or provide personal information (credit
card and bank account numbers, Social Security
numbers, passwords, etc.). Companies don't ask
for this information by email or text.   Check
your credit card and bank account statements
regularly and look for unauthorized transactions,
even small ones. Some thieves hope small
transactions will go unnoticed. Report
discrepancies immediately.  
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When submitting financial information online,
look for the padlock or key icon at the bottom of
your Internet browser, or in the address bar.
Also, most, though not all, secure Internet
addresses begin with https//. Forward
phishing emails to spam_at_uce.gov and to the
company, bank or organization impersonated in the
email. Phishing emails also can be reported to
reportphishing_at_antiphishing.org. The
Anti-Phishing Working Group, a group of ISPs,
security vendors, financial institutions and law
enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight
phishing.
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You also can report suspicious activity to the
Internet Crime Complaint Center
(ic3.gov/default.aspx), a partnership between the
FBI and the National White Collar Crime
Center.   For information on protecting yourself
online, visit the ABAs consumer section on
phishing at aba.com/consumers/pages/phishing.aspx.
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