Phishing

Phishing is a scam that where criminals fraudulently obtain and use an individual's personal or financial information online.

When to be cautious;
* You receive an e-mail that appears to originate from a financial institution, store or company you do business with, or government agency.
* The message describes an urgent reason you must "verify" or "re-submit" personal or confidential information by clicking on a link in the message.
* The link appears to be to the web site of the financial institution, store or company you do business with, or a government agency. But in "phishing" scams, the web site actually belongs to the criminal.
* Once you are inside the fraudulent web site, you are asked to provide Social Security numbers, account numbers, passwords or other information used to identify you.
* When you provide the information, the criminal can access your current financial accounts or create ones using your identity.

Here are some tips from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team:

How do you avoid being a victim?

* Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about your personal information. If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate organization, try to verify his or her identity directly with the company.
* Do not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structure or networks, unless you are certain of a person's authority to have the information.
* Do not reveal personal or financial information in emails, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information. This includes following links sent via email.
* Don't send sensitive information over the Internet before checking a web site's security (see Protecting Your Privacy for more information).
* Pay attention to the URL of a web site. Malicious web sites may look identical to a legitimate site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs. .net).
* If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly. Do not use contact information provided on a web site connected to the request; instead, check previous statements for contact information. Information about known phishing attacks is also available online from groups such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
* Install and maintain anti-virus software, firewalls, and email filters to reduce some of this traffic (see Understanding Firewalls, Understanding Anti-Virus Software, and Reducing Spam for more information).

What do you do if you think you are a victim?

* If you believe you might have revealed sensitive information about your organization, report it to the appropriate people within the organization, including network administrators. They can be alert for any suspicious or unusual activity.
* If you believe your financial accounts may be compromised, contact your financial institution immediately and close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable charges to your account.
* Check your credit reports for unusual activity.
* Report your situation to your local police, and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission.