Identity Theft and Phishing

Phishing. What is it? And how to protect yourself from it.

Let’s say you get an email from your bank. You’ve gotten email from your bank before, but this one stands out from the others. It says “Changes were made to your personal information. Please click the link below to verify your changes.” Now, what do you do when you see this?

That email is what’s called “phishing”. Phishing an attempt to gain someone’s sensitive information by masquerading as a bank, or credit card company. Information such as your Social Security number, account passwords and credit card details. These attempts are made via email, text and phone calls.

Phishing is just one of the methods used in online Identity Theft. It’s not only used to steal personal and financial data, by clicking the link provided, your computer can be infected with viruses and malware.

Identity thieves have spent a lot of time researching banks, credit card companies and businesses like Amazon and eBay. They copy company logos and legitimate e-mail messages then replace the links with ones that direct their intended victim to a temporary web page where either all the information is typed in by the unaware victim or a malicious program is downloaded on the PC. Everything is designed to put the intended victim into a panic mode. Instead of taking a step back and analyzing the situation some people just click the link provided in hoping to quickly resolve the issue stated in the email. Unaware the problems start after they click the link.

The good news is there are a few steps you can take to minimize your chances of becoming a victim. Remember that most reputable companies will never ask for account or personal information via email.

If you get an email that you believe is a fraudulent, don’t click the link provided and give the company a call. If your bank, for example, actually sent you an email about a change in your personal information then you be able to resolve the issue right over the phone.

Always type the web address for whatever company the email claims to be from. Again, do not clink the link provided.

Make sure you have a good virus/malware program to protect your PC. Malware can be used to record internet activity and they negatively affect your PC’s performance. Also, consider changing your passwords on a regular basis.

Anyone anywhere be targeted online, so always keep an eye out for anything that seems “phishy”. Above all, never feel pressured to give up personal information online.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Noel_Ruiz/2127808