In one of my recent newsletters I discussed how to protect yourself from viruses and malware.

Additionally, you have to be aware of what is called Phishing.

Phishing is the act of sending EMAIL falsely claiming to be an established legitimate company, one that you may actually do business with, in an attempt to trick you into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.

The e-mail asks the user, usually with some sense of urgency, to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has.

The Web site is fake and set up only to steal the information requested.

It may look very legitimate. Usually, you can tell it’s fake by looking at the website address (URL) in your web browser. Problem is, most people don’t do that.

The best way to avoid phishing is to ONLY update any private information via a direct login to a specific website. Never update information via an email request using the link provided in the email.

So if I get an email from Bank America that says to login to my account for a special offer (which they would never send), and then there is a link provided… NO WAY.

Instead, I’d go to the Bank America website (http://www.bankofamerica.com) and login as I usually do.

But not via a link in an email message.

Bottom line: Never update or give out personal information as the result of a request via email and/or a link found in an email message.

For more information follow this link to Wikipedia.

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Chris Jaeger
Marketing to Brides Online
(866) 652-7791 x701

 

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