Scam Watch

Phishing is a method that criminals use in order to extract sensitive information by pretending to be reputable companies. Such emails are often formatted to that they look like they come from a company with whom you do business such as a credit card company, bank, brokerage company or online store. Quite often, even the email they use is “spoofed” so it appears to actually come from the institution. Always be wary of emails that request sensitive information – by following these information protection guidelines you can reduce your risk.

Firstly, you should immediately delete any emails requesting financial information and directly contact your bank or provider to inquire if they sent you any email. Most companies will provide direct communications in case they need to get information from you, and will never send out legitimate emails. In case you do actually click on the email, the site will often appear to be legitimate; incorporating a design that is virtually identical to the true institution, but this is, again, part of the con.

Always maintain phone contact with your direct representative at a company, so that you can discuss outstanding business and avoid having to provide crucial information via email. Work with companies and representatives you know personally and trust – this is virtually the only way to ensure that all of your information is kept confidential. Even your choice of an email provider should be judged based upon the security and spam filtering they provide – with a secure spam filter, you can limit the number of phishing emails that arrive in your inbox in the first place.

If you happen to have fallen for what you believe to be a phishing scam in hindsight, make sure to report all details of the incident to the actual institution in question and contact law enforcement. Check the statement on the form of payment you used to see who your payment actually went to – if there are fraudulent charges, then you should immediately contact the payment institution to file a report and claim. Next, if you provided personal financial information, you should put a temporary hold on those accounts as well as any other account they may have subsequent access to. While it may be a hassle to have to re-issue your credit cards, this is the only way to ensure the safety of your accounts. Next, to avoid identity theft, you should report the case to the FTC or your national government agency that can help work with internet fraud.

Awareness of phishing emails can help alert you to scams before they even tempt you. Prevent their occurrence by never publicly posting your email address and only giving it out to people you know personally. Always manually filter you email to read only those from people you are familiar with. Follow these guidelines to help limit your risk from phishing scams and keep your information safe.