Statement from Dreamstime on Phishing Attacks

In early April, the administration of the stock photo agency Dreamstime notified users of precautionary measures when reading emails that are allegedly sent by the stock agency, requesting your account details or suggesting that you follow a link provided in the email to verify your information on the stock agency’s website. The administration reminds users once again that Dreamstime never sends emails requesting personal information from service users.

By the way, phishing has recently been becoming more global in scale. Initially, it was just attacks on clients of various banks, but now the scope of phishing has significantly expanded. The first such email, allegedly from Citibank’s security service, I received back in 2008. I remember being surprised that I, not being a client of this respected financial institution, received an email from them. It turned out to be a phishing email.

Phishing (spelled in the original phishing, derived from the English word fishing) is a type of internet fraud aimed at obtaining access to confidential user data such as logins and passwords. The data is obtained by phishers through mass email campaigns impersonating popular brands like Citibank or Mail.ru. The emails usually contain a request to follow a link to a site that looks identical to the real one or to a site with a redirect. By visiting such a site, the user may unknowingly provide valuable information to scammers, allowing them to access their accounts and bank accounts. Phishing relies on users’ lack of knowledge about basic internet security. Many users are still unaware that online services do not send emails requesting them to disclose their credentials, passwords, etc.

Now, it seems that phishers have become interested in the accounts of stock photo users. This once again proves that stock agencies provide good earnings for photographers and illustrators, as phishers are not interested in small earnings.

When receiving emails, remember that stock agencies, including Dreamstime, NEVER request your password or login in emails. Additionally, emails from stock agencies do not contain various types of files with a .zip extension. Never open such files!

Furthermore, if an email contains a link to the stock agency’s site but the email raises your suspicions, do not click on that link. It’s safer to manually type the address in the browser’s address bar or open the stock agency’s website directly from your bookmarks.

Be cautious when receiving suspicious emails requesting verification or providing data for access to your account!