Phishing

Today I want to share what I discovered about an area of your personal life everyone who has gotten an online presence may not have given any attention but it's happening almost every seconds. It's one of scammers' techniques!

Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

An example of a phishing email, disguised as an official email from a (fictional) bank. The sender is attempting to trick the recipient into revealing confidential information by "confirming" it at the phisher's website.

Note the misspelling of the words received and discrepancy. Also note that although the URL of the bank's webpage appears to be legitimate, the hyperlink would actually be pointed at the phisher's webpage.

Communications purporting to be from popular social websites, shopping sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators ,etc. are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public into their nest. Phishing emails may contain links to websites that are infected with malware or those that are capable of tracking the victims' location.

Phishing is typically carried out by email spoofing or on instant messaging platform,and it often directs users to enter their details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.

A phishing technique was described in detail in 1987, and (according to its creator) the first recorded use of the term "phishing" was made in 1995 by Jason Shannon of AST Computers. The term is a variant of fishing, probably influenced by phreaking, and alludes to "baits" used

in hopes that the potential victim will "bite" by clicking a malicious link or opening a malicious attachment, in which case their financial information and passwords may then be stolen.

Safe your Identity.

Regards

Social Engineering

Today I discover what Social Engineer is.

     Social engineering, in the context of Information Security, is understood to mean the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.

This is a type of confidence trick for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or gaining computer system access. It differs from traditional cons in that often the attack is a mere step in a more complex fraud scheme.

"Social engineering" as an act of psychological manipulation had previously been associated with the social sciences, but its usage has caught on among computer and information security professionals.

Techniques and terms

All social engineering techniques are based on specific attributes of human decision- making known as cognitive biases. These biases, sometimes called "bugs in the human hardware," are exploited in various combinations to create attack techniques, some of which are listed here:

Pretexting

Pretexting (adj. pretextual), also known in the UK as blagging or bohoing, is the act of creating and using an invented scenario (the pretext) to engage a targeted victim in a manner that increases the chance the victim will divulge information or perform actions that would be unlikely in ordinary circumstances. An elaborate lie, it most often involves some prior research or setup and the use of this information for impersonation (e.g., date of birth, Social Security number, last bill amount) to establish legitimacy in the mind of the target.

This technique can be used to fool a business into disclosing customer information as well as by private investigators to obtain telephone records, utility records, banking records and other information directly from company service representatives. The information can then be used to establish even greater legitimacy under tougher questioning with a manager, e.g., to make account changes, get specific balances, etc.

Pretexting can also be used to impersonate co-workers, police, bank, tax authorities, clergy, insurance investigators — or any other individual who could have perceived authority or right-to-know in the mind of the targeted victim. The pretexter must simply prepare answers to questions that might be asked by the victim. In some cases, all that is needed is a voice that sounds authoritative, an earnest tone, and an ability to think on one's feet to create a pretextual scenario.

Diversion theft

Diversion theft, also known as the "Corner Game" or "Round the Corner Game", originated in the East End of London.

In summary, diversion theft is a "con" exercised by professional thieves, normally against a transport or courier company. The objective is to persuade the persons responsible for a legitimate delivery that the consignment is requested elsewhere-hence, "round the corner".
So, it's all depend on you to always verify the source of any request asking your confidential details in order not to fall vistim.
Get the best out of your day.

Related Tags: Social engineering (security),Information Security

                        Tricks

BBM-Android Platform

So you're using an Android device and want to chat with your BBM friends? No problem!

BlackBerry Messenger is now officially available for not only BlackBerry users but Android and iOS as well. BBM is totally free to use and is a great way to stay in touch with your friends without the worry of text messaging or other bulky messaging apps.

Getting up and running with BBM on your Android device is easy, but if you're having trouble I'm here to help. Keep reading for a full walk-through of using BBM on your Android device.

Getting Started

First things first - you'll need an Android device to install BBM.

Head to the Google Play Store and download BBM (free) to your device here.

Once installed, tap on the icon to start the BBM service.

If you're already a BBM user and want to use your current BBID, enter your login details on

the screen. If you're new to BBM or want to use a different BBID, you can register here as well.

Adding Contacts

• Tap the overflow icon (3 dots)

•   Tap Invite to BBM

•  Choose the method by which to invite a contact

• Enter any info as needed.

When the contact accepts your request they will be added to your contact list

Sending Messages

To start a new chat, tap the BBM icon in the top right corner (the one with the + sign)

Search for or choose a contact from the list Tap the contact, enter your message and choose Send

Multiperson Chat

To start a multiperson chat with more than one contact, tap the overflow icon (3 dots) then tap Start Multiperson Chat

Enter the contacts to which you want to send your message

Enter you message and tap Send

Settings

To access the settings menu, tap the overflow icon (3 dots) then choose Settings

Here you can change things such as notification tone, contact list layout, update options, chat history and more Groups

To create a group, tap the Groups icon on the bottom of the screen

Tap the overflow icon (3 dots) then choose Create New Group

Enter a group name, photo and description.

After your group is created, tap the group icon to open it. From here use the overflow menu (3 dots) to change settings, invite contacts, add photos, add lists, add events and more.

Broadcast Message

To send a broadcast message to all of your contacts, tap the overflow icon (3 dots) then choose Broadcast Message. Enter your message and tap Send.

Quick Tips

To quickly view your contacts list, tap the Contacts icon

To quickly view groups tap the Groups icon.

The BBM service will stay running in the background of your device. You'll see a small BBM icon in your notification bar so you know that the service is active and ready to send or receive messages. You can disable this setting, however this will keep BBM in the background and you may miss messages at times, so it's best to just deal with it and keep it in the foreground.

For more help and discussion be sure to hit up our BBM for Android forum.

Topics: BBM, Android