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Why many fall for phishing scams

Opportunity and luck are the main pillars of a successful phishing scam, the Guardian newspaper has said.

This conclusion was reached after the newspaper conducted a mock phishing attack by sending out a fake email purporting to be from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Several people were drawn in and ended up giving up their personal details as the email requested, only to be contacted by the newspaper later and informed they had just been phished.

Asked why they fell for the scam, some said they were expecting a refund from HMRC and that is why they gave up their information.

This, the Guardian notes, illustrates how it is easy for cyber crooks to trick people into exposing themselves to possibilities of ID theft and even having ther bank accounts emptied of their contents.

According to the UK payments association Apacs, the scams used by cyber crooks are similar to the offline scams that have been in existence for years.

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