The Case of the Cyber Criminal - Phishing and Pharming

Learning to be safe online is a challenge that we all face today. One way or another we have all been tricked to open an email that we thought was from someone we knew. This assignment allowed for the students in this class to work as a group and present their findings on digital safety covering the following topics: Fair User Practices and Copyright issues, Cyber Bullying, Textual Harassment and Sexting. These topics fit perfectly into our unit because as educators, we need to understand how to deal with these issues in the classroom.

My content area is Language Arts. A great way to incorporate digital safety into my lesson would be at the point when my students are required to conduct research. I see this as a time to introduce safety while on the Internet. I also plan to bring awareness to my students through character development by discussing Cyber Bullying, Textual Harassment and Sexting. These issues will be discussed through journal writing and class discussion. 

Our group presented the topic on Phishing and Pharming. We collaborated online by using the tools you provided in this class. We used Google docs to store all our information and collaborate  We used Emaze to present our information to the class. We also used the various search engines when conducting our research. Phishing and Pharming according to Phishing.org, is described as a scam that uses fake emails and websites to lure unsuspecting victims to voluntarily hand over sensitive personal information. As technology advances, the Phishers and Pharmers techniques advance too.

Cyber criminals are out to get as much information as they can from individuals. In our presentation, we discussed methods that Phishers use to lure users into their scam. Spehere Phishing involves receiving information from an individual who is familiar with your information. Every thing sounds legitimate. Internet users have to remember, if you are not expecting an email from this individual, if you don’t know the individual, don’t open the email. Don’t respond. If they are requesting banking or personal information, contact your bank and report the email.  

According to Pharming and Phishing.com, Pharming as we described in our presentation as the evil twin or cousin of Phishing, redirects the users to a DNS system, which then takes the user to a fake website to try and steal the users personal information. The key take away on this presentation, is if the users is unsure, don’t give your information to anyone.

Overall, the presentations in the class were excellent and provided me with valuable information that I can now carry into the classroom for my students to be vigilant users of the Internet! The only suggestion I would make is allow one group to present per day. This allows for more detailed discussion in the class.

Below is a youtube video which summarizes what I just discussed in my essay. 

References

History of Phishing. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2015, from http://www.phishing.org/history-of-phishing/ 

Phishing and Pharming Information Site. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2015

Spam and Phishing in the First Quarter of 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from https://securelist.com/analysis/quarterly-spam-reports/69932/spam-and-phishing-in-the-first-quarter-of-2015/

Navigation Menu 1. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2015, from http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/anti/phishing.html 

Business Crime - Phishing & Pharming. (n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3hK0PuSkhw