Phishing Scams
Identity theft is usually defined as a person or group of people that conspire to steal your personal or financial information in order to commit crime or fraud with it. Phishing is a term that denotes tactics used to pretend to be someone else in order to easily obtain your personal and private information in order to commit a crime or fraud. There are many tactics that use phishing techniques to commit identity theft and as always the more you know, the better you are able to protect yourself. Here are a few of the top phishing scams.
Authority Phishing Scams
Many times people will blindly give their personal information to an organization which has authority. Many phishing scams include emails falsely requesting information from the IRS, Social Security Department and for Jury Duty. Many people immediately assume that they are in trouble and quickly without thinking send an unknown email entity their personal information. If you believe that a government agency is trying to contact you, never give out your information online in the form of an email. Contact the agency directly to see first if they are requesting information and then follow their instructions on how you can send them the information they require.
Credit Card and Bank Phishing Scams
Possibly the most popular type of phishing scam is when a person receives an email from their bank requesting that they log into their account and input the requested information. There is usually a link inside the email that the person can click on to take them to the bank’s web site. Unfortunately the entire email is fraudulent and the link does not take you to your bank’s website, it takes you to hacker database that looks like the bank’s website. Once you enter your information, you have compromised your personal information.
Most banks and credit cards have policies in place that state that they will never request information within an email. They advise you to close your email and browser, and then open up a new window and visit their site directly.
Free Vacation Giveaway
If you see a box in a store or at the mall that promises you a free vacation, be very aware of the information that you write down. For instance, while full name and contact info might be acceptable, never put down your social security number, birth date or mothers maiden name. This information can be used to commit fraud. While the giveaway may be legitimate, you never know who has access to the box or information that is submitted.
If you wan to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud, it is important to recognize the many common ways that personal information can be fraudulently obtained.
