Our systems are detecting a large increase in the number of ‘phishing’ emails [What is “phishing” and should I be worried about it?] targetting the Halifax Bank.

Currently the large proportion of these are being detected and deleted by our system. However it is possible that the occasional one will slip through.

Halifax Online have provided some information on the emails and dealing with them. Also we suggest reading How to spot a Phishing scam

Most importantly NEVER reveal your online banking details via email.

“Give us your bank details and we will give you $10m” - If someone said that to you on the street I imagine you would just walk on by. However this is the basis of the commonly referred to “Nigerian Email Scam” and unfortunately there are people still falling victim to this type of scam due to the professionalism it can display and the determination of the actual fraudsters.

The “Nigerian Email Scam” has been around for some time. Originally it was sent using traditional postal mail however with the increased usage of the internet it is much cheaper and quicker to target thousands of recipients.

As you receive more and more emails it can become easy to fall for a phishing scam [What is “Phishing” and should I be worried about it?].

Once you know what to look for it can become a little easier to spot these types of scam emails. Below is an example of a Barclays Bank phishing scam where the sender is attempting to gain access to your online banking account.

Phishing became a buzzword of 2005 and the technique of phishing is likely to increase massively into 2006 and the future as the internet becomes more widespread.

But what exactly is phishing? In a sentence it is the act of tricking / conning a user in to providing confidential information that can be used to defraud.

If you have a domain name and you want to protect your brand then publishing an SPF record is an important step.

SPF: Sender Policy Framework is a method of veryfying that the system sending an email is permitted to do so. Full details can be found on the OpenSPF website.

With todays tecnology it is possible for someone to send you an email and, at first glance, make it appear as though it has come from someone else. This is common in phishing attacks (emails that pretend to be from your bank and ask for your account information). What they are doing is forging the email to make it look as though it has come from an address such as customersupport@yourbank.com. This is also common with companies such as PayPal and Ebay.