Phishing

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What is phishing (pronounced fishing)? These are scams that are trying to steal your personal and financial information. Phishing has primarily been online in the form of email or pop-up messages but can also occur over the phone or through the mail.

Phishers impersonate legitimate financial institutions—banks, credit unions—and businesses. The phishers cast a wide net that's bound to find persons that do business with the impersonated financial institution or company.

Email and pop-up messages may have a link to click or a phone number to call. In the case of the link, it usually goes to a fake website that mimics a legitimate site.

Want to see how savvy you are about these scams? Take the SonicWALL Phishing IQ Test. How well did you do? It’s not easy to distinguish between a real and a fake message, is it?

These StraightTalk resources will help you learn more about protecting yourself and your personal financial information.

• Protecting Your Privacy, Your Identity, and Your Money—Remar's privacy seminar handout— provides lots of information and tips.
• Enhancing Your Online Privacy and Protecting Your Personal Information provides some tips and tools to enhance your online privacy and security.
• Opting Out for Peace and Security looks at how you can reduce the amount of junk mail and unsolicited offers that you receive.
• Going Wireless? Protect Your Personal Information looks at the risks using wireless Internet connections pose to your financial and personal information and the precautions you can take.
• This Scam Will Hit You This Week! But You Don't Have to Be "Phished" describes types of "phishing" email, what you can do about it, and example "phish."
• Keeping Your Computer Secure and Your Personal Information Safe provides an overview of what steps you can take to secure your computer and the personal information on it.
• Fake Check Scams Are Targeting Your Wallet—Learn the Warning Signs and Avoid the Traps describes scams involving counterfeit cashier’s and certified checks.

From the FTC:

• How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam provides tips to help you avoid divulging your personal information.
• Fake Credit Report Sites: Cashing in on Your Personal Information—These sites may be capturing your personal information instead of providing credit reports.

The Phishing Archive at Anti-Phishing.org provides a chronological list of phishing attacks. Each description includes a summary, the actual email, the web site, and points out the signs to look for.

OnGuard Online — Phishing provides some quick facts and links to other resources.

Prepared for Corning Credit Union by Remar Sutton & Associates, May 2005. Reviewed and updated May 2007. All rights reserved.