1. Phishing, what you should know
Office of Information Technology
“Lkout” Initiative
Phishing, what you should know

2. Important Note
The information published hereafter is just a collection of selected IT industry best practices and tips that might assist you in improving the security levels against computer related threats while exercising your computing activities. The information published hereafter is not meant in any way to provide a comprehensive solution nor to ensure full protection against computer related threats.

3. What is Phishing?
Phishing is a form of social engineering that is executed via electronic means and can lead to identity theft and fraud.

4. Social Engineering A social engineer is a polite cracker!!
A social engineer is a person who will deceive or con others into divulging information that they wouldn’t normally share (credit card numbers, bank account information, passwords…etc.).
He/she will build inappropriate trust relationship with insiders.

5. Social Engineering He/she may seem: Unassuming and respectable
Possibly claiming to be a new employee, repair person, or researcher and even offering credentials to support that identity.
Social Engineers use these techniques:
Appeal to vanity
Appeal to authority
Appeal to old-fashioned eavesdropping

6. Social Engineering Human Based: In Person.
Third-party authorization: The social engineer obtains the name of someone who has the authority to grant access to information.
Impersonation: A social engineer might impersonate any character and use certain privileges.

7. Social Engineering Electronic Based: Targeted e-mail messages
Spam, chain letters and hoaxes
attachments
Pop windows
Spoofed Websites
Instant Messaging and Chat rooms
Cell phone text messages (SMS)
(details in slides ahead)

8. Phishing: Real Life Example 1 - AUB

9. Phishing: Real Life Example 1 - AUB

10. Phishing: Real Life Example 2 - AUB

11. Phishing: Real Life Example 2 - AUB

12. Phishing: Real Life Example 3 - Common Tricks
Same old story, but a different version

13. Phishing: Real Life Example 4 - Silly Reasoning
Yeah, right

14. Phishing: Real Life Example 5 - Fake Sites
This one is Easy! This is not eBay site but a fake One.

15. Phishing: Real Life Example 6 - Tricky URLs

16. Phishing: Real Life Example 6 - Tricky URLs

17. Phishing: Real Life Example 7 - Spyware

18. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
IMPORTANT NOTICE - ALERT
Rule 1: NEVER provide your PASSWORD to anyone
Rule 2: AUB staff will NEVER request your PASSWORD via
You may have read or heard of fraudulent s that encourage recipients to provide their personal details such as user names and passwords. At AUB, we will never request your password via . If you receive such an request, please delete it immediately.

19. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
Phishers’ s are typically NOT personalized, while valid messages from your bank or e-commerce company generally are.
Phishers typically include upsetting (usually a threat) information to get people to react immediately (i.e., claiming they will shut off your account).
Is it that urgent?

20. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
Phishers typically include exciting (but false) statements in their s or pop ups to entice people to access their web sites, i.e. claiming that you have won a prize, lottery or inherited wealth.
Never respond to requests for personal or confidential information via . When in doubt:
Call the institution that claims to have sent you the .
Login to their web site by typing their address at the browser address bar.
Does this sound too
good to be true?
Who is this person?

21. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
If you suspect the message might not be authentic, don't use the links within the to get to a web page, the web page can be spoofed.
Never fill out forms in messages that ask for confidential information, you should only communicate confidential information via a secure website.

22. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your web browser.
Check the beginning of the Web address in your browsers address bar - it should be ‘ rather than just ‘
Look for the locked padlock icon on your browser (IE; Netscape/Mozilla)

23. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
Never continue to a secure web site that has a problem with its security certificate.
Internet browsers do present the user with an error message (example: IE7 message below).

24. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate and if anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers
Ensure that your browser and OS software is up-to-date and that security patches are applied (Example: MS Outlook signatures of spam s)
Ensure antivirus and anti-spyware software is installed and current.

25. How to Avoid Becoming a Phishing Victim?
Ensure that your browser phishing filter is turned ON. Example: IE7 phishing filter controls.

26. What to do if you Suspect a Phishing e-mail?
Stop, never reply, or use any of the URL links embedded in the body, or open attachments, or fill in online forms embedded in the body.
Report to IT:

27. What to do if you Think you were a Victim?
If you believe you might have revealed sensitive AUB information or might have revealed information that could be used for identity theft or fraud, contact

28. Test your Phishing IQ Check this Website:
See website put example

29. Acknowledgements Office of Information Technology team
Work-Study students:
Marwa Abdul Baki
Donna Bazzi
Comic strips are reproduced with permission. Please visit for more material.