Avoiding Phishing - Our 10 Point Checklist

13 Dec 2010

We would like to reiterate the concerns of the National Consumer Association when they noted the increase in telephone scams, with apparent representatives of Microsoft calling up and saying there is a virus on your PC / Laptop / Mobile device. There is no way Microsoft or any other company can possibly track infections on computers, unless they themselves have infected your computer. Please always follow our checklist when it comes to phishing:

 

10 Point Anti-Phishing Checklist

Immediate Actions

1. If you suspect a communication, whether initiated by you or not, may not be genuine, immediately stop supplying information.
   1. Hang up the phone, keep a note of the number if possible - do not continue to supply information!
   2. Do not reply to emails - keep copies for later use.
   3. If you are being contacted by post, do not reply, but keep materials for reference.
      
      
2. Immediately disconnect from the internet on your device if you have exchanged compromising details, including:
   1. Computer IP Addresses
   2. Installed remote access software.
   3. Provided passwords / usernames for accounting software (on computer).
      
      
3. If you have provided the Phisher with financial information, passwords for online accounts or other such details:
   1. Contact banks / financial companies in order of personal priority - immediately. (You are required to do so by law).
   2. Then change passwords for services which were shared online.
   3. If you have revealed email lists, etc you are required to notify others of these disclosures by law (business)
   4. Please contact An Gardai Siochana for more assistance.
   
   
   Secondary Actions
   
   
4. Once you have stopped accounts, changed passwords and secured your computer offline you should contact http://www.nca.ie/ and report communications between yourself and the phisher.
   
   
5. Smith and Wise advise you to run a full anti-virus, anti-phishing and firewall check before you reconnect to the internet - we provide an emergency recovery service for such issues, call us on 086 1780 743.
   
   
6. We also recommend you to backup important information, incase the phisher has installed malicious script which will delete your files when you reconnect to the internet, or after a few hours, without communication from the Phisher.
   
   
7. Only reconnect to the internet when a fully updated Anti-Virus and Anti-Phishing scam is complete, and your firewall is enabled. If your Anti-Virus was not up to date before disconnection, ensure you update it by disc from another computer - do not use a Mobile Broadband stick, the connection settings for programs - good and bad - are the same through nearly all connections.
   
   
   Aftermath Actions
   
   
8. Evaluate how any breaches happened, if required, but a reminder of this checklist near your phone, or even a simple sticky to remind you not to reveal such details in future.
   
   
9. If you are a business owner, develop a set protocol to deal with breaches of privacy and data security, and ensure staff know about it, and more importantly use it.
   
   
10. Avoid using simple, cross system passwords which mean if one system is compromised, all systems are. This is one of the leading ways phishers gain access to financial information!

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