Pharming: Is your trusted Web site a clever fake?

"Pharming" is the term for when criminal hackers redirect Internet traffic from one Web site to a different, identical-looking site in order to trick you into entering your user name and password into the database on their fake site.

Criminals try to acquire your personal information in order to access your bank account, steal your identity, or commit other kinds of fraud in your name, so banking and similar financial sites are often the targets of these attacks.

Pharming might sound similar to e-mail phishing scams, but pharming is more insidious, because you can be redirected to a false site without any participation or knowledge on your part.

If you notice something suspicious about a trusted Web site, report it—by telephone if possible—to the business or site owner. It might be a normal glitch or a new update, or it may be a mistake a criminal has made when trying to duplicate a Web site.

This article on phishing scams offers tips on how to tell if a Web site might be a fake.

Frequently asked questions on pharming

Q: How can a pharming attacker redirect my Web browser to another site?

A: Attackers access the giant databases that Internet providers use to route Web traffic. Once inside, they can make modifications on the spot so that you are diverted to the criminal site before you access the site you intended. This is called "DNS poisoning."

Q: Some companies claim that their firewall software also works against pharming. Is this true?

A: Some Web privacy providers claim that customers who route all their Internet activity through their own secure servers are protected against pharming attacks.

The nature of pharming seems to suggest otherwise, but regardless of a company's claims, it's always a good idea to research security products carefully.

Before you invest in and rely on any software solutions, read product reviews from reputable sources, such as CNET Reviews.

Q: Can't I tell that a Web site is false simply by moving the cursor over the links and seeing if the code goes to an apparently random number off the site?

A: Not necessarily. The false Web sites used in pharming scams usually "spoof" their links so that they look exactly like the ones you expect to see, even in the code that appears when you place your cursor over them.

Also, Web sites may change the code in their own links from time to time for various internal reasons, such as when they upgrading their software, server platform, and customer traffic analysis methods.

Q: Why is pharming spelled with a "ph" instead of an "f"?

A: It's part of an underground slang system that began with "phone phreaking": using electronics to hack into telephones and get free calls. Read about it in our Parent's primer to computer slang.

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