When somebody is
offering to sell you
something they clearly
don’t have the rights to
sell, you have to wonder
what they’re going to do
with your personal and
financial information.
Beware of:
Phishing and
spoofing
Spam e-mail
Phishing and spoofing
Phishing is the illegal
practice of tricking
consumers into providing
personal information
that can then be used
for identity theft and
other illegal
activities. Spoofing is
a common tactic in
phishing scams. While
spam e-mail is
relatively easy to spot,
spoof e-mails are much
trickier. The e-mail
claims to be from a
reputable company with
whom you may do
business, and it will
direct you to a website
where you will be asked
to provide personal
information, such as
name, address, account
numbers, and so on. Any
information you enter
may be captured and used
by criminals.
How to spot
spoof e-mails
Spoof e-mails
often contain a
more generic
greeting than
you would expect
from a company
that already has
your personal
information.
Spoof e-mails
claim that your
information has
been
compromised,
that your
account has been
frozen, or that
you need to
confirm the
authenticity of
your
transactions.
Spoof e-mails
may direct you
to counterfeit
websites that
are carefully
designed to look
real but that
actually collect
personal
information for
illegal use.
In addition to
links to
counterfeit
websites, some
fake e-mails
also include
links to
legitimate
websites.
Phishers do this
in an attempt to
make a fake
e-mail appear
real. Even so,
never provide
personal
information
based on the
request of an
unsolicited
e-mail: No
legitimate
business would
take this
approach today.
How to avoid
phishing scams
Any time you
receive an
unprompted
e-mail asking
you to confirm
personal
information
online, call the
company to check
the validity of
the request.
Never rely on
the phone number
in the e-mail to
verify the
source of the
e-mail. Use the
numbers you have
in your personal
records, or
check the phone
book.
While some
e-mails are easy
to identify as
fraudulent,
others may
appear to be
from a
legitimate
address and
trusted online
source. You
should not rely
on the name or
address in the
From field, as
this is easily
altered.
Never provide
personal
information
based on the
request of an
unsolicited
e-mail, even if
the site it
links you to
looks authentic.
Be assured that InforDesk
will never send e-mail
containing attachments
or require customers to
send personal
information to us
through e-mail or pop-up
windows. Any unsolicited
request for InforDesk
account information you
receive through e-mails,
websites, or pop-up
windows should be
considered fraudulent.
Please notify
of any suspicious
activity.
Spam e-mail
Have you ever noticed
how much spam e-mail you
get every day? Have you
ever taken the time to
look at what that spam
is trying to persuade
you to do? If not, you
might be surprised to
find out just how many
of those spam e-mails
are offering what
appears to be authentic
software — at incredibly
low prices. Prices that
are, indeed, too good to
be true.
The risks of
spam
Responding to
spam e-mail can
be extremely
risky. Between
unscrupulous
online retailers
who abuse your
credit card
details,
phishers who
trick you into
providing
personal
information, and
software pirates
who sell
incomplete or
virus-laden
software, there
are plenty of
criminals out
there looking to
take advantage
of you. That’s
why InforDesk
recommends you
avoid the
headache by
never responding
to spam e-mails
offering to sell
you software.
Caution
Beware of
software
shipping to
the United
States from
overseas.
Beware of
any offer
requesting
you to wire
money to
foreign
banking
institutions.
Check a
website’s
security
credentials
before
giving out
credit card
information,
which may be
recorded and
sold to
support
identity
theft.
InforDesk has an active
Internet anti-piracy
program and our own
anti-piracy enforcement
specialists who
investigate the sources
of spam e-mail offers.
We are doing everything
in our power to stop
this kind of activity
and to protect our
customers. Your decision
not to interact with
spammers represents a
very real contribution
to the mission of
shutting them down.
InforDesk also works to
educate consumers about
the risks of getting
software from suspicious
sources. Purchasing from
known and trusted
sources is the best way
to avoid risks. Find a
list of InforDesk Authorized
Resellers.
What is software piracy?
