33. Protecting Yourself from Fraud and Spam

Phishing (Fishing) for Information

At one time, obtaining a free Internet access account was as simple as using a program to generate a fake credit card number and then filling out an AOL application with false information. By the time AOL figured out the credit card number was no good, quite a bit of free online access could be had. This reproachable practice ended when AOL fixed the problem, at which time even more reproachable practices ensued. A perpetrator would use specially designed programs to send a barrage of instant messages to subscribers, posing as an AOL representative, and lure them into providing personal account information. The use of diffuse targets, social engineering, and technology, ...

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