Consumer Advice: How to Avoid Phishing Scams    

 

                 The number and sophistication of phishing scams sent out to consumers is continuing to increase dramatically. While online banking and e-commerce is very safe, as a general rule you should be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet. The Anti-Phishing Working Group has compiled a list of recommendations below that you can use to 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

· 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 adress 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://"

· Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known phishing fraud websites

· EarthLink ScamBlocker is part of a free browser toolbar that alerts you before you visit a page that's on Earthlink's list of known fraudulent phisher Web sites.

· Its free to all Internet users - download at http://www.earthlink.net/earthlinktoolbar

· 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 satements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate

· if anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers

· Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied

· in particular, people who use the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser should immediately go to the Microsoft Security home page -- http://www.microsoft.com/security/ -- to download a special patch relating to certain phishing schemes

· Always report "phishing" or “spoofed” e-mails to the following groups:

· forward the email to reportphishing@antiphishing.com

· forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov

· forward the email to the "abuse" email address at the company that is being spoofed (e.g. "spoof@ebay.com")

· when forwarding spoofed messages, always include the entire original email with its original header information intact

· notify the Internet Fraud Complaint Center of the FBI by filing a complaint on their website: www.ifccfbi.gov/

For more information, check some of the following sources:

For more information about how to protect yourself, see our Fact Sheet 17a Identity Theft: What to do if It Happens to You at http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm. Read the information and tips put out by the Federal Trade Commission about phishing at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm. Read the Department of Justice's recent whitepaper "Special Report on Phishing" at http://www. antiphishing.org/DOJ_Special_Report_On_Phishing_Mar04.           

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