Phishing

Phishing is the attempt by fraudsters to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and card details, via email, by pretending to be from a trustworthy entity, such as your bank or financial institution. This information can be used to access you or your company’s bank account or card.

The fraudster often sends thousands of generic emails out (like bait when fishing – hence the name phishing) to people whose email addresses have been obtained from an unknown source, in the hope of getting a “bite”. These emails tend to have generic greetings such as “Dear Customer” or “Account Holder”. However, in some cases a tactic called “spear phishing” is used where the fraudster has some detail about the target, such as their name or the company they work for.

The emails try to trick people into clicking on a link in the mail by claiming that they need to “update”, “verify” or “reactivate” their account or that they can claim a refund. The link brings the victim to a bogus website (which may look like the genuine company’s website) where they are asked to key in financial or security information. Another variation of phishing is that the victim is asked to fill in a form which is attached to the email and to email it back.

The email often imparts a sense of urgency, threatening that your account will be blocked, closed, deactivated or that you will suffer some other negative consequence, if you do not act immediately.

In recent years’ phishing emails masquerading as email communications from banks, card issuers, PayPal, utility companies, An Garda Síochána and Revenue have been common.