Scam Alert of the Month

Beware of "Phishing"

Phishing is a term used when the identity thieves send out a very official looking E-mail to try and get you to provide them with your personal information. They will try to fool you into thinking your bank has sent the E-mail by placing the banks logo in the message. The E-mail will ask you to "verify" your personal information, i.e. your social security number or account number. Once the identity thieves have this information they may use it to apply for new credit in your name, or make a withdrawal from your account. Your bank already has this information and will never ask you to verify this information via E-mail. Be very aware of this type of scheme. Do not ever respond to this type of E-mail, and it is not necessary to report this alone as a crime. If you have sustained a loss immediatly contact your local Police or Sheriff's station to report the crime.

Below is a real-life example of a Phishing scam e-mail. This one is pretty cleaver scam because at the beginning of the scammers e-scam letter they caution you to be aware of phishing and to never give your personal information out in an e-mail. Then they lie to you and tell you for your own security your card has been deactivated, then they want you to go to their website and provide them all your personal info (card number & PIN) for reactivation:

Attention:

Please beware that there are current reports of phishing emails. Phishing is a type of scam designed to steal your personal information.We will never request your information such as social security number, card number or PIN through email. Please do not respond to email requests for this information.

Being informed is your best defense. See the Protect Yourself link for ways of avoiding identity theft.

To help protect your account, we may occasionally need to take immediate action to block transactions in a particular area of the country. For your protection, we have temporary deactivate your MasterCard/Debit Card.

Click on the link below to reactivate your card:

http://fm101.fm/~jack/eppicard-ssl/secure-update/vaedcclient/siteLogonClient.recip/security.htm

Activate your card online

Enter your card number and Personal Identification Number (PIN)

After your card is activated, you are directed to additional information and shopping discounts.

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