How
to Avoid Phishing Scams
Phishing
– as in fishing for confidential information –
is a scam that encompasses fraudulently obtaining and using
an individual's personal or financial information. 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 list of recommendations below that
you can use to avoid becoming a victim of these scams.
1.
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.
- phishers
emails are typically NOT personalized, while valid messages
from your bank or e-commerce company generally are
2. 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 address in your browser
3. 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
4.
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 browser's address bar - it
should be "https://" rather than just "http://"
and at the bottom of the browser will be a padlock indicating
a secure connection.
-
Click on the padlock to view the security certificate.
5.
Regularly log into your online accounts.
- don't
leave it for as long as a month before you check each
account
6.
Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements
to ensure that all transactions are legitimate if anything
is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers.
7.
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
Contact
us @ 888-SOY-BANK (769-2265)
to report any Phishing or if you think you may be a victim
of identity theft.
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