Scam Alert: Fewer 'Phishing ' E-mails IBM Says

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Internet criminals might be rethinking a favorite scam for stealing people's personal information. A report released last week by IBM Corp. shows a big drop in the volume of "phishing" e-mails, in which fraud artists send what looks like a legitimate message from a bank or some other company.

If the recipients click on a link in a phishing e-mail, they land on a rogue Web site that captures their passwords, account numbers or any other information they might enter.

It could be that criminals are moving on from phishing to another kind of attack, involving malicious software. IBM said it is seeing more instances of "Trojan horse" programs, which are used to spy on victims.

Dean Turner, director of Symantec Corp.'s global intelligence network, who was not involved in IBM's research, said Symantec also has noticed less phishing, but warned that it could increase again later in the year. Phishing scams spike around the holidays, he said.

To protect yourself against phishing, access sensitive sites on your own, rather than by following links in e-mails, which might lead to phishing sites.

For a look at past scams, go to www.modbee.com/business/scam.