Scam Alert: Don't Get Phished!
Haven't heard of Phishing? It has nothing to do with standing in the Grand River, or even the hippie rock band. No, Phishing is a very real identity theft threat--and I know it's real because my friend nearly lost $1000 last week (but didn't, thanks to her savvy credit card company). How does this scam work? Really devious folks send out emails that look like they are legitimate messages from PayPal, eBay, or your bank. It's usually some urgent message about how your account has been violated, and they will send you to an authentic looking (but phony) website and ask you to enter personal information like passwords or credit card information. If you see one of these emails, move on! Or if you think it may be real, contact the company directly and ask them about it.
For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission's website
on preventing identity theft or their alert on Phishing
We also have books on how to prevent identity theft, including:
- Identity Theft Toolkit : How to Recover From and Avoid Identity Theft
- Computer Privacy Annoyances : How to Avoid the Most Annoying Invasions of your Personal and Online Privacy
- 50 Ways to Protect Your Identity and Your Credit : Everything You Need to Know about Identity Theft, Credit Cards, Credit Repair, and Credit Reports