Phishers launched a record number of attacks in January 2006, as reported by the Anti-Phishing Working Group. These attacks often take the form of an email that purports to be from a trusted entity, such as eBay or PayPal.
The email states that the user needs to provide information, such as credit card numbers, identity information, or login credentials, often to correct some alleged problem supposedly found with an account. Some number of users fall for these attacks by providing the requested information, which can lead to fraudulent charges against credit cards, withdrawals from bank accounts, or other undesirable effects.
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