E-Mail Fraud Hides Behind Friendly Face

[mfcorey1]

MATT RICHTEL and VERNE G. KOPYTOFF, On Thursday June 2, 2011, 9:02 pm EDT

SAN FRANCISCO — Most people know to ignore the e-mail overture from a Nigerian prince offering riches in exchange for a bank account number. That is a scam, plain to the eye.

But what if the e-mail appears to come from a colleague down the hall? And all he asks is that you add some personal information to a company database?

This is spear phishing, a rapidly proliferating form of fraud that comes with a familiar face: messages that appear to be from co-workers, friends or family members, customized to trick you into letting your guard down online. And it has turned into a major problem, according to technology companies and computer security experts.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/EMail-Fraud-Hides-Behind-nytimes-3130255937.html

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Nigerian prince? Fraud? What fraud?

Hey, wait…

[Edweird]

2. I've never submitted (or been asked/required to submit) any HR info by email. There's ALWAYS a form.

All that stuff has to be on paper in ink with my signature. I'm salaried and I can't even submit my daily payroll electronically. I tried. I have the Excel spreadsheet on my phone. I filled it out and sent it up the food chain. No dice. Any attempt at 'spearfishing' would rightly be met with some heavy duty scrutiny and fail with all but the most gullible. Verification is only a phone call away.