Electronic Identity Theft
Many Show-Me Net members have received e-mails asking them for personal information. These e-mails always appear to be from legitimate companies. This is called "phishing". The most common messages appear to be from Citibank, US Bank, E-Bay, PayPal, or America OnLine. They often contain graphics that have been lifted from the real companies to include logos, copyright symbols, and working links to the authentic websites. The messages also ask you to click on links where you are asked for your information. The link addresses also appear to be real. Someone familiar with analyzing links and message headers can see that the sites are fake.
Legitimate companies (including Show-Me Net) will never ask you for personal information through e-mail. Never respond to messages or websites asking for your name, account number, PIN number, phone number, mailing address, e-mail address, credit card number, etc. The senders of these messages are only trying to steal your personal information so that they can use it to also steal your money.
Here are some helpful links concerning electronic identity theft:
Citibank (click on the Consumer Alert button)
Federal Trade Commission Phishing Site
FTC How Not to Get Hooked by a "Phishing Scam"
US Bank E-mail Fraud site
Yahoo scam page
Anti-phishing Working Group site
--from their site:
What is Phishing? Phishing attacks use 'spoofed' e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool recipients into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, etc. By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers are able to convince up to 5% of recipients to respond to them. |
CBS news Web 'Phishing' Scams Targeted
http://www.showme.net/phishing.htm
last updated
February 1, 2006