According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) the reward is only $386. A fraudulent email designed to look like it comes from the CRA is typical of many phishing attacks. The email lures Canadian tax payers with a promise of cash in exchange for personal information.

The first emails were sent out on October 14, and a second wave was sent out on December 15, 2008. The origins of the first batch have since been traced to Japan, while the second wave apparently came from the U.S., the CRA has revealed.

The corrupt email contains an embedded link to a phishing Web page which looks like the CRA’s website. It uses the same color scheme and logo, and even includes links to the real website. The page presents a form asking the taxpayer to enter vital personal details including social insurance number, date of birth, full name, and the amount of money received on the last tax return.

There are a couple of telltale signs a watchful observer would recognize as a phishing Web page.

Seven signs to watch for:

1. The message does not address you by your actual name, but instead addresses you as: “User, “Customer,” “Client,” “Member,” “Sir,” “Madam” etc.
2. The message contains spelling errors, grammatical errors, awkward wording or phrases, or a combination of all of these.
3. The message uses threatening, urgent or alarming language in regards to your account access, e.g. “Your account has been suspended,” “Security Update Required,” “New software download required for continued access,” etc.
4. Hovering your mouse pointer over the link or viewing the source message reveals a URL that does not appear related to the company supposedly sending you the message.
5. The link within the message is a truncated (shortened or tiny size) URL which then redirects you to the actual website.
6. The message includes attachments that you are asked to download or open.
7. You are being asked to provide information that the company should already have or shouldn’t need to know such as: Username and password, payment information, banking information, credit card numbers with security code, birthday, or even Social Security Number.

Has anything like this ever happened to you? Share your story below in the comments area.

Any avid Internet user should know that cybercriminals can steal your money not just by putting malware on your machine, but by using dangerous phishing attacks.

Sites run by government agencies are prime examples as they often demand a wealth of personal information. Filling in a tax return online may save time and paper, but it gives cybercriminals a great opportunity to pilfer data which could be used to steal your identity and commit more crimes in your name.

Now that 2010 is in full swing, United States tax payers can start submitting their tax returns for 2009. (Although the final deadline for submission isn’t until April 15th, the earlier you submit your paperwork, the earlier you’ll receive any rebate due.)

For added convenience, you can submit your tax information online, via the official IRS site. But be very, very careful. Cybercriminals have managed to design a phishing site which looks alarmingly accurate to the original, even the Acrobat Reader toolbar has been copied. This is not the first time cybercriminals have mimicked the official IRS site in an attempt to steal information from computer users. Each year around tax season several similar scams are carried out.

There will most likely be an increase in corrupt sites like these as the deadline for submitting tax returns draws nearer. So be on guard and check the web address of the site you’re visiting, because in attacks like these you could lose far more than just your credit card number.

With all the trouble being caused for social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook, one might start to feel just a little anxious, and not without good reason. The latest problem seems to be one targeting Facebook users.

A rogue Facebook application , as shown in figure 1. below, appears to be sending notifications that lead users to a site that harvests login information. Typically you will receive a message that another user has commented on one of your posts, and this message seems to derive from an application called “sex sex sex and more sex!!!”. Even though this application may seem to be suspicious to the majority of Facebook users who may encounter it, more than 287,000 users have become fans of it.

figure 1.

Within the sent messages, there are hyperlinks to a fake Facebook login page, hosted on a domain registered no less than a week ago, requiring you to submit your login credentials. The registered domain appears as follows:

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: FUCABOOK.COM
Created on: 15-Aug-09
Expires on: 15-Aug-10
Last Updated on: 15-Aug-09

In order to keep yourself protected, remember to only log into online services by using your own bookmarks or by typing in the URL manually. If any link you receive seems suspicious to you, do not click it. If you happen to be a Facebook user, be sure to go over your privacy settings with a fine-toothed comb, and possibly remove any applications you no longer use.

What is so dangerous about the discovered “link hack” is the links are displayed as legitimate MySpace.com links that are trusted by visitors and users of MySpace. Websense, a security researching company, recently said the link hack technique allows attackers to create malicious anchor tags over the majority of a given MySpace.com page. Many social sites such as MySpace.com allow their users to change the look and layout of personalized pages. With the “link hack” method in the wrong hands it could potentially redirect a large number of visitors to certain MySpace.com or phishing pages that a hacker chooses to setup.

What can MySpace.com visitors do to protect themselves?

Currently Websense is monitoring the phishing activities on MySpace.com and have shut down known phishing sites that are part of the link hack. Ingenious tactics are used such as changing a profile page on MySpace.com daily to mask the hacked links on pages. This means visitors should be cautions of pages where the layout and content changes on a daily basis. It is always a good suggestion that visitors to MySpace.com always be mindful of which links they choose to click on. It does not hurt to check the source of any link or redirecting link on MySpace.com

Hackers are using the IRS tax season to target their malicious scams on computer users. Recently it is known that hackers are sending out messages that mask as IRS emails regarding tax matters. They have even taken the liberty to create websites that look like the IRS site where they can obtain a user’s personal information.

Phishers are sending out a plethora of email messages pretending to be IRS messages. The phishing tactics of the fake IRS messages are so advanced that they may redirect you to a website that resembles the IRS site and upon entering your personal information it may direct you to the real IRS covering its tracks so you will never know your information was stolen. Currently the sources of the IRS phishing scams redirect the victims to sites hosted in Russia. The IRS is not aware of this issue but they do have a page devoted to warning users about phishing scams.

The IRS states that they do not send unsolicited email about tax account matters to individuals, business, tax-exempt or other taxpayers. Arming yourself with just that bit of information should assist you in avoiding phishing scams from fake IRS messages and links. It is recommended that you do not click on any links in email messages that claim to be from the IRS.

Technical details on how the scam is carried out are still unknown, but it appears as if an e-mail is being sent along with a trojan or other type of malware script directing customers to NatWest Bank’s official website but then popping up bogus alerts to the consumer.

If you visit NatWest homepage you will see an alert stating, “Fraud Alert. Do not enter any online banking details into pop-ups/new windows that may appear in front of this home page.”

10 million americans fell victim to identity theft last year and the numbers are growing at an alarming rate. AntiPhishing last report shows their number of phishing complaints are up 4,000%.

A study by Gartner Group done this June puts the total ammount of money being scammed through phishing at 2.4 Billion US Dollars over the last 12 months. A more recent survey was carried out which puts the number closer to 500 million. Either way it is a huge and rapidly growing problem.

BTW, It was great to see NatWest act decisively and quickly taking extreme measures to help protect their customers against this!

Internet scammers casting about for people’s financial information have a new way to lure unsuspecting victims: They go “phishing”.

Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), phishers send an email or pop-up message that claims to be from a business or organization that you deal with; for example, your Internet service provider (ISP), bank, online payment service, or even a government agency. The message usually says that you need to “update” or “validate” your account information. It might threaten some dire consequence if you don’t respond. The message directs you to a Web site that looks just like a legitimate organization’s site, but it isn’t. The purpose of the bogus site? To trick you into divulging your personal information so the operators can steal your identity and run up bills or commit crimes in your name.

The FTC, the nation’s consumer protection agency, suggests these tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam:

If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply or click on the link in the message. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address. In any case, don’t cut and paste the link in the message.
Don’t email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organization’s Web site, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.
Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.
Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge. Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.
A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It’s especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Finally, your operating system (like Windows or Linux) may offer free software “patches” to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit. (Such as the DSO Exploit)
Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them.
Report suspicious activity to the FTC. If you get spam that is phishing for information, forward it to spam@uce.gov. If you believe you’ve been scammed, file your complaint at www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC’s Identity Theft Web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from ID theft. Visit www.ftc.gov/spam to learn other ways to avoid email scams and deal with deceptive spam.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.