Spam email now has a new and more frightening variant, it's called phishing and it has been made by criminals and hackers who aim at getting unwitting consumers to reveal account numbers and passwords.

Usually after getting an email like ones mentioned above from reputable companies, most of us would race to respond as quickly as possible. However, in most cases you will find that you won't be helping anyone other then criminal who wrote that email and who has nothing to do with actual organizations.

What is Phishing?

It is when someone creates false email that pretends to be from a bank or other authority, but which is actually designed to collect sensitive information such as passwords. This process of stealing information used for fraudulent purposes is latest problem to plague Internet users. It is a phenomenon know as phishing i.e. emails 'fishing' for important information.

Just like Spam, phishing mails are sent to widest possible audience so it's not unusual to receive a message asking you to confirm account details from an organization you do not actually deal with. You may be asked to fix up your eBay account when you haven't even got one!

In addition to collecting sensitive information many phishing messages try to install spy ware, Trojans etc. allowing hackers to gain backdoor entry into computers.

Types of Phishing Emails:

It isn't hard to see that a lot of people, animals, and environment in general are being neglected in our world today. That's not to say that a lot of things haven't been improved over time as well. As I come from one of few wealthy nations, I can witness daily both extravagances of greed and injustice of poverty, although of course amount of poverty in my country is far less than in so-called third-world or developing countries. If we watch News (I try not to as it often effects my mood in a detrimental way) we can also see all kinds of issues relating to sustainability of our planet and its natural creatures that live in our interconnected space. However, we often seem to be separating ourselves from Nature that actually provides us with all elements we need to survive in present and in future.

There are differing opinions on how we as developed countries can help rest of humanity to move forward. Some more 'primitive' societies might argue that they don't need our help or want our type of modern lifestyle anyway. In Bhutan instead of GDP they have GDH or Gross Domestic Happiness. In thinking that happiness is more important than money maybe we really don't have too much to give or teach these people. Bhutan is a minority however and truth is that many countries could do with our support both in terms of finance and in sharing of skills and knowledge.

Many people don't seem to believe in giving to charities or non-profit organizations. I read recently in an Oxfam International article that of 22 rich countries who promised a mere 0.7% of their GDP, only five have come through with goods. It's also documented case that most of charity given in world is by individuals, and not rich ones like you'd think, a huge proportion of America's charity is given by people in lower income brackets. This may be because they can emphasize with marginalized as they too know what it is like to have little. It may also be case that they are also happier with what they have as opposed to often-obsessive consumer who always feels that they haven't got enough and need more material possessions.