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A who's who of corporate giants have teamed up to combat phishing scams. The members of the group have also been the subject of previous phishing scams.

The group consists of Microsoft, Visa, eBay, and PayPal. One of the tools the group is planning on using is the creation of a database which will store names and information of known scammers. In case of uncertainty, Phishing is, as defined by The Word Spy

"the term coined by hackers who imitate legitimate companies in e-mails to entice people to share passwords or credit-card numbers. Recent victims include Charlotte's Bank of America, Best Buy and eBay, where people were directed to Web pages that looked nearly identical to the companies' sites."

The group have also launched a website called the Phish Report Network. The site will function as a news and information site, while allowing users to report suspected phishing schemes. A welcome note explains

"The Phish Report Network (PRN) was established to address the growing problem of phishing. As the industry's first anti-phishing aggregation service, PRN enables companies to better protect consumers against online fraud."

A report by VNUNet's security blog reveals how the site and the joint venture works

For example, companies such as eBay, PayPal and Visa can enter confirmed phishing sites, and software companies, ISPs and security vendors can incorporate the aggregated list into software, email and browser services to help protect consumers against online fraud.

"Phishing is the fastest growing segment of spam being sent worldwide today, victimising both legitimate online companies whose brands are being hijacked and consumers who are unwittingly providing their personal information to criminals," said Ryan Hamlin, general manager of the safety technology and strategy group at Microsoft.

Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest search news.