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One day, I came back home tired, turned on the PC, and started my
Microsoft Outlook. And as usual, the strings of spams, news update, etc etc
started filling up the inbox. Then I came across this email from “Ebay”
which uses the same colour tone, words, etc. It was asking me to update my
account immediately at Ebay due to some urgent issues.
I was very tired so I did not suspect or check the source code (1st
mistake), and simply clicked on the link (2nd mistake) out of
convenience. The browser opened and I saw the usual Ebay webpage with
the form right there. I started filling up the form with my personal
information, address, and credit card information… and it was Only at
this point that I realised, “Hey, what am I doing?”. Instinctively, I
took a glimpse at the address bar and my heart sank. I nearly fell into
the trap… all that was needed was just one click of the Submit button, and
I became poorer. The address looks similar to ebay, but with a slightly wrong
spelling (couldn’t remember the disguise on the address).
Prior to this incident, I have encountered a few similar phishing emails from other sites, but have deleted them all. The above encounter with
Ebay was the closest I ever get to being “Phished”.
Lessons Learnt:
Make it a habit, never click the links on an email to access a form on a website to fill up your
personal particulars, esp. financial information. Even if you know the mail is real, don’t do that. Regardless of how much you know, a bad habit may wipe out your hard-earned money by just one click. In my case, it wasn’t my habit to click directly on the link but yet I did because I was tired.
