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Pfishing

"Phishing" 

 
There's a new type of Internet piracy called "phishing." It's pronounced "fishing," and that's exactly what these thieves are doing: "fishing" for your personal financial information. What they want are account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and other confidential information that they can use to loot your checking account or run up bills on your credit cards.

Financial services industry websites are the most common target of the growing cyber-crime known as phishing in which bogus emails and websites are used in order to trick individuals into revealing personal or financial information over the Internet.

Here's how phishing works:
In a typical case, you'll receive an e-mail that appears to come from a reputable company that you recognize and do business with, such as your financial institution. In some cases, the e-mail may appear to come from a government agency, including one of the federal financial institution regulatory agencies.

The email will probably warn you of a serious problem that requires your immediate attention. It may use phrases such as "Immediate attention required," or "Please contact us immediately about your account." The e-mail will then encourage you to click on a button to go to the institution's Web site.

In a phishing scam, you could be redirected to a phony Web site that may look exactly like the real thing. Sometimes, in fact, it may be the company's actual Web site. In those cases, a pop-up window will quickly appear for the purpose of harvesting your financial information.

In either case, you may be asked to update your account information or to provide information for verification purposes: your Social Security number, your account number, your password, or the information you use to verify your identity when speaking to a real financial institution, such as your mother's maiden name or your place of birth.

If you provide the requested information, you may find yourself the victim of identity theft.
 
The number and sophistication of phishing scams sent out to consumers is continuing to increase dramatically and at an alarming rate. While online banking and e-commerce is very safe if you’re cautious to security measures, as a general rule you should be careful about giving out your personal information over the Internet. The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and the financial regulatory agencies have put together some recommendations to help you avoid becoming a victim of these scams.
 
Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information
  • Unless the email is digitally signed, you can’t be sure it wasn't forged or 'spoofed'
  • Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately
  • They typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.
  • Phisher emails are typically NOT personalized, while valid messages from your bank or e-commerce company generally are
  •  If you did not initiate the communication, you should not provide any information
 
Don't use the links in an email to get to any web page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic
  • Instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser
 
Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information
  • You should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone
 
Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser
  • To make sure you’re on a secure Web server, check the beginning of the Web address in your browsers address bar – it should be https:// rather than just http://
 
Regularly log into your online accounts
  • Don't leave it for as long as a month before you check each account
 
Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate
  • If your statement is late in arriving, call and find out why.
 
What to do if you fall victim:
  • Contact your financial institution immediately and notify it of the situation
  • If you have disclosed sensitive information in a phishing attack, you should also contact one of the three major credit bureaus and discuss whether you need to place a fraud warning on your file.
    • Equifax 800-525-6285
    • Experian 888-397-3742
    • TransUnion 800-680-7289
  • Report all suspicious contacts to the Federal Trade Commission through the Internet at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT
  • Forward the email to reportphishing@antiphishing.com