MySpace.com and Phishing Dangers
How NOT to Get Hooked During a Phishing Trip on MySpace.com
Many of us are constantly searching for easier ways to connect with our friends and relatives who live in different areas. Others also like meeting with new friends and sharing ideas with business associates across the country. While all of this sharing is great news for faraway friends and those interested in networking, personal sharing of this type can also put you in the path of those on phishing trips. Phishing is a growing problem for Internet users as those doing the phishing develop more sophisticated techniques. Let’s talk about how not to get hooked specifically on MySpace.com.
The company’s website, MySpace.com, describes itself as “a place for friends.” Anyone with access to a computer and to the Internet can join the web-based networking service free of charge. Currently, it is most popular with friends who want to chat online; single people who are looking to meet other single people; people looking to enlarge their social network by meeting their friends’ friends; long-distance relatives who wish to stay in contact with their family members; business people who want to network with other business people; and anyone looking to reconnect with long-lost family or friends. And, fraudsters looking for an in to someone’s personal information.
MySpace.com is known to media watchers as a social networking website. Its success has made it the fourth most popular English-language website on the Internet and the third most popular website in the United States. If that isn’t enough to assure you of its popularity, note that the 106 millionth MySpace.com account was opened this September and that the website reportedly opens upwards of 230,000 new memberships every day.
Phishing is a term used to describe attempts to steal personal information for identity theft via the Internet. Phishing most commonly occurs via an email that seems to be from a trusted source—your bank, PayPal, MySpace—and attempts to get you to provide personal information, including bank or credit card account information. It is also common to be phished from one safe website to another, where you are asked to provide personal information, which is then used by a hacker.
Phishing attacks at MySpace are becoming more and more common. Indeed a phishing site that stole the login and credentials of many MySpace.com users was just recently discovered and removed. Very often, these MySpace.com attacks are undetectable by users. The current style of attacks starts when the MySpace.com user is sent an instant message to a link. The link is from someone in their contact list, making it seem like a safe place to go, and asks them to follow the link to view photos. Instead, users are taken to a false MySpace.com login page, which when logged into, also logs users into the real MySpace.com. From here, hackers have access to the personal information that MySpace.com stores on its users, including their birthdays and addresses—all a hacker needs to open a fraudulent bank account.
So, how can you protect yourself from being the victim of phishing on MySpace.com? Internet security expert, Ross Paul of Websense says, “The more information you give MySpace, the more at risk you would be if someone managed to get a hold of your login information.” Provide as little information as possible via the Internet. Also, be wary of any links you are sent via email and instant messenger. Hold your cursor over the link and look at the URL of the website to which it will take you. If it doesn’t look familiar, avoid visiting it. It is always important to keep your anti-virus and firewall software current.
To help decrease the frequency of phishing occurring on MySpace.com, the company recently appointed a chief security officer and implemented a new monitoring system.
