Don’t let it happen to you
Malaysian online vendor Adrian (a pseudonym) responded to an e-mail he thought was from eBay, and updated his password, address and other details.
Phishers then took control of his web pages, auctioned off his goods, and diverted the money into their own bank accounts.
Adrian was able to wrestle back control of his eBay account within 24 hours. However, when angry buyers started to complain a few days later that they had paid for goods and not received them, Adrian’s reputation as a seller was tarnished.
In order to safeguard his future trading business, Adrian had to return the buyers’ bids from his own pocket. He was unable to recover the funds sent to the phishers as their accounts were overseas. Sorting out the problem would take years and cost more than he would gain.
“It’s been an expensive lesson,” he says. “It cost me money and part of my reputation. But I’m not telling anyone about this because I should have known better. If this gets out, I damage my reputation as a savvy online trader.”
Adrian isn’t the only one to be cheated. Check out some stories from victims around the world:
Nancy Boyle from Wisconsin, the US, responded to an e-mail purportedly from her bank that warned her account would be suspended unless she updated her information.
Thieves stole US$1,800 (RM5,685) from her online bank account, and charged US$800 (RM2,527) to her credit card for escort services. Investigators said the phishers were based somewhere in Egypt.
In New South Wales, Australia, Lloyd Davies replied to an e-mail that looked as if it came from his bank, confirming his password and membership details. By the time the bank opened the next morning, the phishers had transferred A$10,000 (RM30,000) to two accounts inside Australia and two accounts overseas.
William Jackson from Texas gave his credit card, bank routing and Social Security numbers, his birthday, his mother’s maiden name and the personal identification number for his bank card to a fake eBay site and immediately lost US$200 (RM632) from his PayPal account and gained a US$1,000 (RM3,159) credit card charge.
He also discovered a fake application for a US$30,000 (RM94,755) car loan that he never requested. Ironically he was in the midst of declaring bankruptcy, a process that prompted the phishers to move on.
Wang from Beijing, China received a text message on his mobile phone purportedly from his bank, asking him to confirm that he had bought goods worth 18,000 yuan (RM8,130).
When he called to find out what was going on, he gave his credit card number, password and other personal details for “further identification”. Within hours, the thieves had hit his credit card with bills totalling RM60,000.
TSO (Saturday May 10, 2008)
