Explain Phishing To Your Grandma
Next time you find yourself struggling to explain how phishing works to the less than techno-savvy people in your life, perhaps just fire up this charming little video that explains it in plain English and engaging pieces of cut-out paper.
Phishing Scams in Plain English [Common Craft] (Thanks to Angela!)
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Comments:
Good video. I'm surprised he didn't say to delete and then log on directly to the institution's Web site. The phishing URLs often look surprisingly similar to the institution they're pretending to be.
@coren: just make sure you keep your PIN numbers private. you don't want anyone using your card at the ATM machine to withdraw money in $20 dollar increments 2 a.m. in the morning while you're sound asleep sleeping.
Growing up I remember a metal music video about
">three little pigs. It was a claymation kind of ditty that concludes with:"and the moral of the story is that bands with no talent can easily amuse idiots with a stupid puppet show"
For this video? Yeah, I sat through the whole thing. Turns out it doesn't even have to be puppets. I'm easily amused by paper cutouts and hands going "boo" and "yay".
@Applekid: I will now blame someone else for my misfortune. Damn, uh, cat. Search for this in Youtube: Green Jello "Little Pig, Little Pig"
awesome video! & excellent suggestion, consumerist. the largest new growth area for internet usage is seniors - a group that's frequently targeted for scams & typically lacks the technological knowledge set to be able to identify phishing.
so, we have our assignment for the week.
CONSUMERISTAS, GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
@Applekid: don't worry. tomorrow there will be a consumerist article entitled: "explain html tagging to your grandma". you'll be all set after that, i promise.
;)
@Kogenta: please tell me that's not the only redundancy you picked up in my post. if so, you need to go back & reread it over again once more one more time.
Hello, I AM a grandma, and I was communicating like gangbusters using email and the BITNET equivalent of IM-ing before many of you were born.
Sorry. I find ageist assumptions about computer literacy annoying.
@ElizabethD: While I applaud your internets-saavy, MY g'ma, bless her heart, still uses "Enter" like a carriage return in ALL programs (when she can figure out how to turn the computer on at all, that is), will send emails in mid-sentence, then re-send a complete email where the font and font color will inexplicably change. So, I have a hard time believing that she'd be able to masterfully detect a phishing scam. So this video is great!
@ElizabethD: I think this applies equally well to phishing scams conducted by Gopher, Telnet, and when you receive a postcard in the mail telling you that your BBSs phone number has changed and you should start using the new number and promptly enter all your personal information to verify your identity.
Tip: If your bank's logo is in ANSI art, it's probably not legit.
@coren: I just love watching these videos at 6am in the morning. They are a great way to keep me awake.
@ElizabethD: I'm sure there are plenty of geek grandmas around, but the majority aren't as savvy as you are.
Most of the middle aged bracket can and will learn about phishing with relative ease. My mother, for instance, probably isn't going to fall for a phishing scam - but my mother in law can handily fall for a bootleg DVD scam just because she doesn't know any better. These videos definitely help them out, in a way that won't betray my frustration if I explain it to them.
@ElizabethD: "using email and the BITNET equivalent of IM-ing before many of you were born."
See what you did there? You made an ageist assumption that readers of consumerist are young and don't know what BITNET is.
It works both ways, grandma.
@Applekid: My knowledge of the 3 Little Pigs has long since been completely written over by the 3 Little Bops.
@ElizabethD: Hear, hear. I also cringed a bit at the grandma = not tech savvy assumption. This could be just as useful for the gullible 20-somethings (of which there are plenty).
I have printouts of emails my grandparents (who were professors) sent me when I was learning to read. For a long time, I thought everyone's grandparents sent typed letters that were delivered by the phone.
Now I need them to do "Watching Videos on YouTube" to explain to my grandmother how to watch the rest of these on YouTube.
like. dammit.
@mac-phisto: I was just commenting on the OP's pet peeve, I could point out the stupidity of calling an ATM Machine (though honestly I've actually never heard anyone say that, everyone I know just calls them ATMs). I've also never heard anyone ever say asleep sleeping during any sort of normal conversation.
PIN numbers is the only one that I ever hear anyone ever mention with any frequency.
ElizabethD and oneandone,
I would think the younger people would benefit more from these films than the grandparents. After all, the older ones have 40, 50, even 60 or more years experience in life and the various people of questionable ethics.
@ElizabethD: It occurs to me that, at 30, I could be a grandma. But they are talking about "your grandma" which implies two generations before us.
Are your grandkids Consumerist readers?
@themrdee:
Well... I don't know how to put this... but you'd be completely wrong. Especially when they use Windows, since Windows constantly pops up security warnings and what not that most people click through without even reading.
Argh, he says pin numbers. Pet peeve.
Good video though