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Internet Banking & Consumer Advice:
How to Avoid “Phishing” Scams


“Phishing” is an attempt by an internet thief to obtain non-public personal information about you such as your social security number, bank account numbers or credit card numbers, for the purpose of fraudulent activity to your accounts, or identity theft. 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. Most companies conducting secure e-commerce will never email you asking for your personal identifying information.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group ( http://www.antiphishing.org ) has compiled a list of recommendations below that you can use to avoid becoming a victim of these scams.

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Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information
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unless the email is digitally signed, you can't be sure it wasn't forged or 'spoofed'

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phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately

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they typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.

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phisher emails are typically NOT personalized, while valid messages from your bank, credit card company or e-commerce company generally are
 

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Don't use the links in an email to get to any web page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic
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instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by personally typing in their known Web address in your browser
 

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Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information
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you should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone
 

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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://"
 

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Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known phishing fraud websites
 

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Always use virus scanning software
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Ensure that it is set to continuously monitor activity on your computer and that you keep the software updated with current virus signatures
 

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Regularly log into your online accounts
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don't leave it for as long as a month before you check each account
 

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Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate
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if anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers
 

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Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied
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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
 

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Always report "phishing" or “spoofed” e-mails to the following groups:
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forward the email to solutionswp@antiphishing.org

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forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov

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forward the email to the "abuse" email address set up at the company that is being spoofed (e.g. "spoof@ebay.com")

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when forwarding spoofed messages, always include the entire original email with its original header information intact

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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:

To get the latest updates available for your computer's operating system, software, and hardware, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

To learn more about protecting your computer and personal information at home, go to http://www.microsoft.com/security/home/

For more information about how to protect yourself, see the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse 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 http://www.antiphishing.org/DOJ_Special_Report_On_Phishing_Mar04.pdf

What are the warning signs?

It's often extremely difficult even for experts to distinguish between a slick scam and authenticity. Your best protection, therefore, is caution--and following these five simple rules. That said, here are some telltale signs of a "phishing" scam:

• Requests for personal information in an e-mail message. Legitimate businesses will not ask for personal information in e-mail.

• Alarmist messages. Criminals attempt to create a sense of urgency by asking that you act immediately, so you'll respond without thinking.

• Misspellings and grammatical errors.  Obviously, if certain obvious words are misspelled that the legitimate company would never misspell, you're being "phished."

• A slightly altered Web address. Only close scrutiny would reveal the deceptive spelling. For example, www.microsoft.com could appear as www.micosoft.com or www.mircosoft.com.

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In particular, don't be fooled by an e-mail hoax promising easy money.

Fraud Alert - Beware of "Phishing" Email Messages:
Timothy Kelly - Attorney & counselor at Law is aware of a series of fraudulent email messages with very official-looking corporate names on them.  These messages are designed to trick people into giving out private information.  Criminals use this kind of information to steal your identity and to create fake identities. Although these messages appear to be genuine, they are not.

Legitimate companies conducting e-commerce never ask for confidential information by email, so if you receive a message like this, you can be certain it's fake.  For more information about "phishing", or to report a “phishing” attempt, please click here.

To view a great video from Microsoft about phishing, click here.

To learn five tips for spotting fraudulent emails, click here.

Mr Kelly realizes that Identity Theft is an all-to-common and growing threat to his Clients and in our world today.  He's doing everything he can to help protect his Clients and to arm them with the information they need to protect themselves from this vicious fraud.  We hope you have found this information helpful.  If there is anything else you need, please call us immediately @  303-820-0840.

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Copyright © 2002 Timothy Kelly  - Attorney & Counselor at Law
Last modified: 10/11/07