Beware of Phishing E-mails

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This week, I received two e-mails that appeared like phishing. What is Phishing?

Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. This is similar to Fishing, where the fisherman puts a bait at the hook, thus, pretending to be a genuine food for fish. But the hook inside it takes the complete fish out of the lake. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public.

Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.

1. First Letter:

Dear User,

Your UnionBank online account security is inactive,

but first you have to confirm your registration.
Click here to confirm your registration!

Privacy Department.
UnionBank of the Philippines

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2. Second Letter

Dear Email Bearer;

We are upgrading our Email system to enable us reduce the occurrence of spam . You are to click on the Link below to Upgrade your Email.

http://mawstravel.co.uk/quoteform/use/form/form1.html

Louis J Kern
Web Administrator

Note: Once you click on the link above, they will have information on your e-mail account. Last month I also received notification that my e-mail account is full and needed to be upgraded. When I looked at my e-mail usage, It shows only about 5% of the space allotted to me by my server. I know it was a phishing letter. I deleted it so I can not print it for your information verbatim. Anyway beware of phishers.
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An email from Union Bank warning me about Phishing.

Dear Union Bank Client,

As an Internet user, you should know about phishing emails. They can appear to be from a well-known company but may put you at risk.

A phishing email generally asks you to click a link in the email and provide, update or confirm sensitive personal information. It may refer to a supposedly urgent or threatening condition concerning your account.

Please note that UnionBank will never send you an email asking for your personal information. You should NOT respond to such email or reveal your PIN or PASSWORD to anyone. Also, Do NOT visit the phishing site, as it is likely to contain a virus or otherwise compromise your confidential information.