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Phishing
- What It Is and How to Avoid Identity
Theft.
by
Angela Daley
Phishing
is a term used to describe a type of spam
that aims to steal your identity. It can
be attempted through email, instant messages,
or pop-up windows. Phishers seek to convince
their potential victims to provide personal
data such as credit card numbers, passwords
or account information.
Sophisticated
phishing scams appear to come from reliable
sources such as your bank or credit card
company. Logos, web addresses and information
taken directly from legitimate sites are
copied and altered to lead the reader
to respond to these requests.
There
are a few simple steps you can take to
protect yourself from phishing scams.
For example, don't follow the links in
an email to your bank or credit card's
website. Instead, type the address directly
into your browser. Also, don't give out
personal information on a website that
isn't secure. To tell if a website is
secure, check for "https://"
in the address bar rather than just "http://".
The 's' stands for 'secure'. Be wary of
any emails that ask you to update, confirm,
or validate your account information.
Try
to review your printed account statements
regularly. If you believe you are an identity
theft victim, you can file a complaint
with the FTC at www.ftc.gov
in addition to filing a police report.
You should also call the toll-free fraud
number of any one of the three nationwide
consumer reporting companies and place
an initial fraud alert on your credit
reports.
A
Daley Design, LLC - Southern New Jersey
based firm providing web design, site
maintenance and updates, domain name registration
and hosting assistance, email and newsletter
design, search engine submission and other
marketing services. A Daley Design, LLC
(856) 415-9013 www.adaleydesign.com
askangela@adaleydesign.com
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