Posted By thestatedtruth.com on October 1, 2013

Pay attention class, there will be a quiz on this!

Security firm McAfee warned Tuesday that hackers are likely to take advantage of the rollout of ObamaCare exchanges this week by launching phishing attacks aimed at stealing personal information.

Phishing attacks are designed to dupe users into revealing credit-card numbers or other confidential data by delivering phony links or attachments in emails and messages on social media sites.

Like many forms of cyber attacks, phishing scams have become more sophisticated in recent years, highlighted by a number of high-profile schemes that hit media companies like The Associated Press earlier this year.

“They’re getting very good at what they do,” said Davis. “It’s important that consumers take a cautionary note before they do anything. Step back and explore a way to verify this is legitimate and the source.”

McAfee warned it is seeing an increasing number of phishing schemes that try to trick users on social media sites like Facebook (FB), LinkedIn (LNKD) and Twitter, which is set to go public later this year.

The security firm lists a number of specific ways users can defend against phishing attacks.

• Install patches on your operating system as soon as possible to prevent hackers from exploiting known security vulnerabilities.
• Download the most up-to-date version of your Internet browser to deploy the latest security measures
• Double check the domain name of a website to ensure it’s legitimate. Look for “https:” in the URL to confirm SSL encryption is being used
• Don’t click on links in unsolicited email and ignore messages that call users to action by saying “your account will be terminated.” Rely on the phone instead and be sure to use numbers verified outside of the e-mail.
• Be extra vigilant about downloading software and e-mail attachments from the Internet like free screen savers that may contain keyloggers or screen scrapers that can steal information.

 Wise Dog 

Categories: Commentary, National News, National Security, News Letters, Tid Bits
Tags: Computer hackers, Confidential Data, Cyber Attacks, Hackers, Information, Internet Scams, Phishing Attacks, Scams, Steeling, Theft