Phishing 

What is Phishing? Phishing (Pronounced "fishing") or "spoofing" is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established, legitimate enterprise, in an attempt to trick the user into surrendering private, personally identifiable information by e-mail or by directing the consumer to an illegitimate web site that will be used for unauthorized purchases and identity theft.

HOW THE SCAMS WORK

In two frequent scenarios: (1) the perpetrator sends an e-mail to the user; or (2) the user receives an Internet "pop-up" window from the perpetrator while surfing the web, which directs the user to visit a web site where the user is asked to "update" personal information (such as passwords, credit card information, social security numbers, and bank account numbers that the legitimate organization already has), or to download software because a spyware application has been detected on the users PC.

The perpetrator's web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user's information.

Once fraudsters have 'phished' out your information or uploaded malicious programs onto your computer, they could use it in a number of ways.

Your credit card could be used for unauthorized purchases, your bank account could be cleared out, or your information may simply be gathered for an identity theft scam or sold to identity theft rings.

Find out > Warning Signals of Spoof E-mails | How to Identify a Spoof WCB Web Site | How to Protect Yourself from Being Phished.