In every corner of the Internet, high-tech “phishers” are baiting their hooks as the holiday season begins, hoping to lure a prize catch--the account data and personal information of unsuspecting computer-users all across the country.
More than a simple invasion of privacy, these online scams have turned into a multimillion dollar industry that can wreak havoc on people’s finances and sense of personal security.
“The idea behind phishing is that an attacker will try to get you to enter your information into a decoy website that looks exactly like the legitimate one you are used to using,” said Wesley McGrew, a scientist at Mississippi State University’s Center for Cyber Security Research. “The decoy site will allow them to collect your username and password, and once they have that, they can access any personal or financial information you’ve stored on that account.”

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