Typically it is someone who you may have some kind of on-line account with: eBay, PayPal or a bank. Usually the e-mail says the organization needs to update your account information or warns you that you need to change your account password and presents you with a link to click on. You click the link and you are taken to a site that looks legitimate, Where you are invited to provide informa-tion like your user name, password or credit card information.

You may be asked to log in to your account. You type in your username and pass-word only to get a “Page Not found” error or a message that the server is not available. At this point you've been hooked and have provided the criminal with the username and password to access your bank account, Or with your credit card information. The key to making this work for the criminal is the link that came in the e-mail. You click on it and it takes you to a site that looks like the real thing only it's a fake.

How do you avoid getting caught in a phishing scam? First, be aware that nobody legitimate asks anybody to update sensitive information this way. If you get an e-mail purporting to be from your bank (or PayPal or credit card company, etc) be very skeptical. If you actually have an account with them, phone them (don't use the phone number from the e-mail if there is one provided it's a fake too) and ask if they are asking for updated information from you. Instead of clicking on the link in the e-mail, type the address into the address bar of your browser or go to the regular link you use for that site and ask if they are asking for updated information. You'll see very soon that they simply do not do this sort of thing this way. Don't ever enter any personal information into a form you got through e-mail, no matter how legitimate it looks without checking the legitimacy first. If you do, you may find yourself 'hooked' in a 'phishing' scam. Nerds-On-Site offers peace of mind through computer maintenance, security and solutions.

...Abram F. Bearth