Microsoft Warns: Don't Be a 'Phool'

Microsoft, with the help of the Federal Trade Commission and the National Consumers League, is using the backdrop of April Fools Day to warn computer users about the dangers of "phishing" scams. Microsoft also announced it has filed 117 lawsuits against alleged phishing site operators.

Phishing is the term for a scam that appears either as a pop-up or within an e-mail that attempts to steal a user's personal information. Very often these scams look like genuine e-mails from companies such as PayPal and eBay.

Aaron Kornblum, Internet Safety Enforcement attorney for Microsoft, said that companies need to work together in order to prevent the Internet from becoming overridden with phishing scams.

"Microsoft provides consumers with the information and technology that will help protect all of us from this pervasive and destructive threat, and has filed legal action today against some of these individuals," Kornblum said.

Last December, BetaNews talked to Kornblum about what Microsoft was doing on the legal end to curb spam.

As with previous suits the company has filed against spammers, the new cases are "John Doe" lawsuits, where the actual defendant is not known; however, the plaintiff has a "reasonable" period of time to find the identity of the defendant.

But in the end, the best line of defense starts with the consumer. "Computer users can stop phishers by not responding to an e-mail or pop-up that asks for personal information," said Lydia Parnes of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Just delete it."