Evil twin phishing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Evil twin" is the wireless version of the phishing scam. An attacker fools wireless users into connecting a laptop or mobile to a tainted hotspot by posing as a legitimate provider.
Its is a bogus base station that latches on to someone using Wi-Fi wireless technology. Victims think their laptops or mobile phones are connected to bona fide wireless internet connections.Once you connect to the wireless network, the evil twins can access and steal your login information, in addition to confidential information which can potential lead to identity theft.
Unwitting web users are invited to log into the attacker's server with bogus login prompts, tempting them to give away sensitive information such as user names and passwords.Often users are unaware the have been duped until well after the incident has occurred.
Wireless devices link to the Internet via "hotspots" - nearby connection points that they lock on to. But these hotspots can act like an open door to thieves. Anyone with suitable equipment can locate a hotspot and take its place, substituting their own "evil twin".
Users think they've logged on to a wireless hotspot connection when in fact they've been tricked to connect to the attacker's unauthorised base station. The hacker jams the connection to a legitimate base station by sending a stronger signal within proximity to the wireless client -- thereby turning itself into an 'evil twin.'