CallingID Support: Fequently Asked Questions
If you'd like to learn about Internet Fraud, Phishing and ID Theft please click here
What is CallingID Toolbar?
CallingID Toolbar is a free security application
designed to keep you safe and informed while browsing. It shows you the
physical address of the real owner of the site you're viewing. It evaluates
every site you visit and warns you when you access dangerous or fraudulent
sites.
Who needs CallingID?
With the steady rise in identity theft, phishing and other
crimes online CallingID has become a must for every Internet user.
It is estimated that over 2,000 Internet users fall victim to Internet crime
every day. Victims range from Internet novices to online security
professionals. Every day new ways to swindle and steal are thought up, and
there simply is no way for users to keep an eye out for fraud while using the
Internet efficiently.
Users often respond to emails and other solicitations or search results
thinking they are accessing a company and/or responding to a reasonable
request. The exposure is as simple as signing up for a newsletter and providing
a standard user ID and password. It can be as easy as responding to information
verification. It can be as confusing as trying to handle an apparent billing
problem and identifying yourself. All these are potential devices scammers and
identity thieves employ to get the information they need to overtake your
identity.
Many attempts have been made to protect users from the criminals who try to
take advantage of the anonymity provided by the Internet. However, most of the
tools currently available react slowly when a new scam or phishing site is
launched and often block sites you actually wish to do business with because of
arbitrary access rules.
Here is where CallingID comes into the picture. CallingID evaluates all the
information about the site you're visiting and displays a warning when the site
may be fraudulent. Now users don't need to investigate every site they visit -
a quick glance at the CallingID toolbar is enough to judge if a site is
trustworthy or fraudulent. At the user's request CallingID can show a summary
of all the information used to make the assessment of the site, thus allowing
users to gauge the site for themselves without running complex tests and
queries about the site owner.
For more information about who's in danger of falling prey to Phishing
scams please read the 
article:
"Research reveals phishing hooks"
What browsers does CallingID support?
CallingID currently supports Internet Explorer 5.0+ and Firefox 1.0+.
Will CallingID support other browsers?
CallingID will support other browsers, including Avant (which is already supported in CallingID Link Advisor), Opera
and Netscape in future editions. The exact release dates for each browser will be announced later this year.
What does the term CallingID mean?
- "Caller-ID" is a service that provides the name and telephone number of a caller, which appear on a display as the
call is being received.
- "CallingID" is a service that displays the name of the person you are calling.
How does CallingID work?
CallingID uses many different sources to find site owners,
to verify that the owner is a real organization& and to& deliver the
most accurate information to& all users. Running complex& verification
tests on the CallingID servers, Cross-Searching several international
information databases, Advanced Risk Assessment conducted by the toolbar when
the page is loaded and by the CallingID team are all pooled together to give
you the most informed and accurate assessment available.
Proactive users can send their concerns, information and opinions directly to
the CallingID Risk Assessment Team for assessment by clicking the REPORT
button, thus increasing the reliability of the information presented. For more
information on how to report site information please click here.
Why is the site I see in the address bar different from the site I see in CallingID?
The site you see in the address bar is usually the site your
browser connects to in order to bring the web page. However, the page may
include several components. Each component can send data to several sites
including sites other than the site you see in the address bar. CallingID shows
you where the data you enter in a specific field on the web page will go.
You may choose to see all the sites that may receive information from you by
selecting 'Show all sites that may receive data from a page I visit' in
'Advanced Options'.
Why does CallingID periodically connect to the Internet even when I'm not browsing?
CallingID Toolbar runs several tests on sites you visit to make
sure they're safe. Most of these tests are done by our servers. In an effort to
insure your privacy, some of these tests are perfomed by your toolbar, without
sending any requests to the CallingID servers.
To conduct these tests your CallingID toolbar needs access to up-to-date
internal tables. These tables include:
- List of known URLs used for phishing
- Geographic location of sites
To make sure your toolbar provides you with the best possible information,
these tables are periodically updated. This keeps your toolbar running
smoothly, your information safe, your privacy protected and minimizes
communication with CallingID's servers while you browse the Internet.
While some other solutions send every URL you visit to their servers to check
for phishing, CallingID stores some tables on your computer. Keeping tables
locally also means that when you visit different pages within the same site
CallingID doesn't need to communicate with the servers, giving you a faster, safer
browsing experience.