Phishing

I just heard a story about phishing on NPR. They said that phishing is getting better and fooling more people than ever. Please don't ever click a link on an email that says where they are from, even if you do business with them. Instead, go to their web address by typing in their address. Check your account. If things are okay, you will know that you were being phished. You may want to contact said company and let them know you were being phished. Chances are they have had several complaints before yours.

One example they gave was fake Amazon.com emails. People click on the link, enter their username and password and the page flickers and they now have your information, by the time you figure out, this is not really Amazon.com.



I have posted about this topic before. For novices and even others, this is very dangerous. As our world becomes more internet dependent, more trolls come out of the woodwork and try to steal our identities or at the very least our stored credit card information. NEVER let a site store your credit card information. ALWAYS enter credit card info each time you purchase from a site. Change your password from time to time. Immediately, if you were just phished!



Another way to make sure a site is real, especially if new or unknown is to go to bizrate.com. Put in the item you are looking for and it will tell you all the places selling that item and for how much. It will also give you their rating. Ratings based on customer reviews, re: quality, customer service, selection, cost, shipping, price and overall satisfaction with the site. I would be leery of using a company that had only an handful of reviews. It could be a real company, new to Bizrate or it could be somebody who is trying to get a piece of all the money that is spent this time of year!



Phishing is not limited to the internet. It has long been learned that we do not give out financial information to people who solicit us via telephone. Be aware for instance, if they want your social security number or your mother's maiden name. If this happens on the phone then hang up and if you have caller ID, report the number immediately to DoNotCall.gov. If you are not signed up for this website, you should be. It makes calling you for solicitation purposes, illegal. They are fined or jailed depending on the number of complaints. But, they are also not going to call you again, which is great.

Phishing, or mail fraud, seems much more prevalent these days. Mail fraud is a federal offense. Things that look real are fake. Look for bad grammar, or anything that tells you this may be a scam. If you call the number on the mailing and they ask for personal information, don't give it to them. Generally, you will find that the automation system is nonexistent and a real person will ask you for your financial information. A real company will already have this info and will not ask you for it! EVER.

There are so many ways to protect yourself from identity theft. Use them, be aware, be vigilant.