Educate yourself on the New Zealand phishing species
lurking in the murky waters of the
internet
NetSafe publishes guide to
phishing, social engineering and online scams based on the
classic fish and chip shop poster
MEDIA
RELEASE
Auckland, Monday 04 June 2013 –
Most New Zealanders will have encountered a
phishing scam at some point in their online lives – it’s
believed that more than 2000 Kiwis are affected by
cybercrime every day.
While many home internet users are
savvy about email spam that’s designed to trick you into
revealing personal information, NetSafe warns that online
scams are becoming more sophisticated and highly
targeted.
Phishing emails are made up with copied logos to
look as if they’re from a respectable organisation like your
bank, or are spoofed so they appear to have been sent by a
friend wanting to share a link with you.
Martin Cocker,
Executive Director of NetSafe warns that while poor,
sometimes comical spelling and grammar is still a good
indicator of trickery, scammers have come a long way in
appearing more legitimate.
“Phishing and other tactics
used online scams are designed to catch you out and reel you
in with all kinds of offers or targeted emails, links and
messages. The aim is to trick internet users into revealing
sensitive information such as website logins, bank account
or credit card details or their personal data” says
Cocker.
Educating the computer
user
NetSafe have published the ‘New Zealand
Phishing Species’ chart with illustrations by Chris Slane,
based on the fish and chip shop staple ‘New Zealand
Commercial Fishing Species’ chart. It highlights many of
the different ways scammers target internet users.
NetSafe
believes education and scepticism when using the internet is
the best protection against common scams.
Martin Cocker
warns against following shortened links or downloading
unknown files. “Be careful when you receive emails
requesting urgent account verification, when you’re sent
unexpected attachments or see curious video or photo links
posted on your newsfeed.
Don’t respond, download files
or click on links to websites you’re suspicious of and
investigate any offers carefully that appear to be too good
to be true.”
Phishing and social engineering tricks are
one of the ‘Tight 5’ of computer security that NetSafe
are focusing on during Cyber Security Awareness Week. The
‘Tight 5’ comprises:
• Use strong
passwords
• Update everything
•
Use a secure wireless network
•
Back up your files
• Think
before you click
General Phishinscam visits
the Bay of Plenty
As part of Cyber Security
Awareness Week, NetSafe has created five short,
light-hearted videos to raise awareness of the key computer
security challenges people face when going online.
To
raise awareness about phishing, NetSafe took to the streets
of Tauranga to interview people about their experiences of
phishing and social engineering attacks. Residents of the
city have reported many such incidents to NetSafe’s Orb
website.
Visitors to www.securitycentral.org.nz
can watch the video and learn about ways to defend against
phishing and online scams. You can also review in-depth
descriptions of more than 20 NZ Phishing Species online at
http://www.securitycentral.org.nz/phishing/.
More
computer security advice and details on phishing are
available at www.securitycentral.org.nz.
The week’s activities can also be followed on www.facebook.com/netsafe.
ENDS