Symantec has introduced a service designed to help
companies to combat online identity theft, or
"phishing".
The anti-virus software giant was set to announce on Monday a
brand protection service that will use the company's global network
of researchers and its desktop software to help companies to
identify and thwart scams that use their names to trick
customers.
Phishing scams are online crimes that use spam to direct
internet users to websites that are controlled by thieves but
designed to look like legitimate e-commerce sites. Users are asked
to provide sensitive information such as a password, bank account
or credit card number, often under the guise of updating account
information.
The Online Fraud Management Solution is a package of services
that will be marketed to financial services companies. Symantec
will use a global network of probes and decoy e-mail accounts to
collect, analyse and identify new phishing scams targeted at Online
Fraud Management customers.
When new scams are identified by Symantec researchers, they will
create filters that block the fraudulent messages associated with
those scams. Those filters will be automatically deployed to
consumers who use Symantec applications such as Norton AntiSpam and
Norton Internet Security, Symantec said.
It will also notify the Online Fraud Management customer company
named in the scam e-mails so it can work with law enforcement to
get the phishing website shut down.
Symantec will provide Online Fraud Management customers with
access to a "user-friendly resource centre" with content that will
help them to educate their customers about internet security
threats, and with links to products and information to help them
assess their computers' security exposure and protect it from
attack.
Consulting services to provide assessments and help with
implementation are also included in the program, Symantec said.
Online fraud and identity theft scams are a growing problem. The
Anti-Phishing Working Group, an industry association with
representatives from the high-technology industry and law
enforcement, identified more than 1,400 unique phishing attacks in
June, the most recent month for which statistics are available.
Phishing attacks are growing at more than 50% a month, the group
found.
The scams have also attracted attention from the US government.
In August, US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced 103 arrests
for online fraud and other internet-related crimes. The operation
included 160 investigations across the US for a variety of
internet-related crimes, including phishing.
Paul Roberts writes for IDG News Service