Phishing Scams - How to Report Them
What should you do when you get a "phishing"
email or end up on a scam website? We're going to teach you who
to report the scam to, or how you can track down the scammers yourself
and work to help shut down their scam-collecting ways, at least
temporarily. We've seen scams targeting eBay, Washington Mutual
(Wamu), Wells Fargo, Citibank, and PayPal.
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First
Steps
Advanced Steps
You should only follow these
steps if you have some experience with web and email
issues.
View Source
- Look at the html source of
the email message or the web form.
- In the html code, look for
<form> tag and see where the form results are
being sent.
The form will probably look something like this:
<form action="/cgi-bin/FormMail.cgii"
If the form action starts with "http://..."
then the results are being processed on a separate
server.
- You will also want to look
for a hidden field below the <form> tag that
will look something like this:
<input type=hidden name="email" value="someone@blahblah.com">
This is the email address that will receive the results
of the form. You'll want to track down those responsible
for the servers the form and email reside on.
Track Down Servers
The best way to track down who is responsible for these
servers is to use various WHOIS servers. Take the domain
name or IP address you found in the email or web page
and input it here:
Send a Kind Email
Now use the contact email information you find in the
WHOIS listing to forward anything you received and to
kindly ask them to investigate and shut down the offending
page or email address.
Be nice. Usually the system administrators of these
sites have nothing to do with the scam being perpetrated.
They also get a lot of email and are a much more likely
to help if you explain what's going on in a civil, helpful
tone of voice.
Once you've sent your email, there's nothing to do but
sit back and relish your part in trying to reduce the
number of people gettting ripped off!
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Do This
Quickly!
If you move fast you might be able to head off the use
of some of your information.
Change Your Password
If you filled out one of these scam forms and entered
any password information — change it immediately.
While you're logged into your account, check your transaction
history, if possible, to see if there are any fraudulent
entries.
Contact the Company
Call or email the fraud department of the company involved
and let them know that your account might be compromised.
Call Your Bank and Credit Card Companies
You should call to see if any fraudulent transactions
have shown up and to possibly arrange for new cards or
accounts.
Is That It?
If you entered your Social Security Number, Date of Birth,
Address, etc into the form, you will need to follow the
steps listed on our Emergency
Help page. You are a potential victim of identity
theft. |
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