Gwebs Cryptographer

I recently read an interesting article by “security guru” Bruce Schneier (with more interesting comments) discussing tourist scams.

Its’ not just tourists that get scammed though. Scammers and phishers are everywhere, in real life, and on the internet, trying to find a way to separate you from your money.

Recently I have noticed a wave of SMS (text) messages asking for money. The other day I got one claiming to be my girlfriend - the writer said they had lost their wallet and phone and could I please transfer $1000 to such and such a bank account.

Another day I was having dinner with a friend who’s father called. My friend’s dad was worried sick - he had gotten a text message from someone claiming to be his son, asking for money because he was in trouble with corrupt cops. My friend laughed, screaming over the din of the convivial hotpot restaurant, that he was perfectly ok.

Aside from SMS scams, there are lots of other kinds of scams. Check out the email above, which is an obvious part of a phishing scam. First of all, you should notice that the URL or Link doesn’t point to HSBC.com, but rather to “accountmaintenance.com” - and aside from that, you should know that no bank would ever send you an email like this. But, if for some reason you think they might be telling the truth, remember the golden rule: always login to the bank the same way - type their address into the location bar of your browser.

This could Watch out for SMS scams, email scams, phishing scams, and read more, more, and more.

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