NetSafe publishes guide to phishing

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

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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

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