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This is something that
should be put out to every one in the club and at work and at home. This
is off a news feed I get. The links at the bottom have more good
information on them.
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 address 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
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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.
It's free to all Internet users - download at 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 statements 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 -- 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 Fact Sheet 17a Identity Theft: What to do if It Happens to
You at www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm. Read the information and tips put out by the Federal Trade Commission about phishing at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm. Read the Department of Justice's recent whitepaper "Special Report on Phishing" at www.antiphishing.org/DOJ_Special_Report_On_Phishing _Mar04.pdf (all one line - Ed}
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