This morning I read yet another article about a new phishing scam and decided to post some notes I had written up in the past. From the article:

A phishing scam that appeared Thursday claiming to help protect consumers against debit-card fraud and identity theft has experts worried about the increasing skill and creativity of online scammers."

What is phishing?

"Phishing" attacks use spoofed e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool individual into divulging personal data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, etc.

How to protect your information?

The following are just some guidelines that I follow to best protect my personal information.

1. Do not provide personal information in response to an unsolicited request, either through the phone or the internet.
2. If the request from a financial institution or organization appears to be valid, contact them directly for further confirmation.
3. Never provide a password online or over the telephone.
4. Regularly monitor acounts for suspicious transactions.
5. Do not use links provided in a suspicious email.
6. Surf the internet responsibly.
7. Maintain all computer software up to date.

Visit the Anti-Phishing Working Group website for more information.