Filtering: Best Anti-Phishing Option

The National Consumers League has updated their anti-phishing education site with a set of best practices for ISPs to use in combating the messages. Some of those practices can also be put into use by online marketers to build trust with customers.

by Kristina Knight

Created two years ago, PhishingInfo.org has a wealth of information about email certification and authentication for consumers and marketers.

According to Wikipedia.org, “Phishers attempt to acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an electronic communication”.

To combat phishing, ISPs should offer:
*Filtering – similar to fighting spam, the study found that Bayesian filters, IP blacklists and URL filters are good at filtering in-bound phishing messages. They have also been found to recognize out-bound phishing messages that are sent from unsuspecting hosts.
*The ability to hide or disable links in suspected phishing emails or the ability to prevent them from arriving in inbox of customers.
*Offer education to customers.

Online marketers should also employ this method. Educating consumers on the types of messages you will and will not send will help them identify phishing scams that slip through ISP filters. No matter how much filtering an ISP does, some messages can slip through, and even if they arrive in a spam or junk folder users may believe the scam email is legitimate and open it.

By educating your message list and keeping it updated you can help customers keep their information safe.