'Fake Internet banking sites on the rise'
21 December 2009 (New Straits Times)

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of phishing attempts is on the rise, according to an advisory released by the Cyber999 Help Centre of CyberSecurity Malaysia.
The Cyber999 Help Centre has been receiving numerous reports from Malaysian Internet users regarding phishing websites hosted overseas.

These look exactly like that of Malaysian banks' e-banking websites.

These phishing websites or fake websites are used to conduct a "phishing attack", which involves manipulating the weak side of human security.

This is done by masquerading as a trustworthy entity, for example, a copycat of a familiar banking website.

The "phishing attack" also uses a kind of social engineering tactic, such as sending spam emails that look as though they have been sent by a well-known Malaysian bank, it said here yesterday.

The email tricks people into clicking on a link that will open up the phishing website or fake e-banking website.

As the fake website looks exactly like the original, customers enter confidential information such as e-banking usernames and passwords into the fake e-banking website.

This way, the "phishing attacker" steals usernames and passwords of bank customers.

CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer Lt-Col (Rtd) Husin Jazri said: "If you do receive such emails and they look like they are from banks or financial institutions, our advice is to ignore them.

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"If you do get suspicious, contact your bank for verification or contact our Cyber999 Help Centre."

CyberSecurity Malaysia is under the purview of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry. -- Bernama