Phishing
Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal and financial information from unsuspecting victims.
How does it work?
Phishing works by fraudulent pop-up messages and/or e-mails that are sent to you asking you for personal information. These e-mails appear to be government agencies, financial institutions, and/or other reputable entities.
The message claims that you must verify or submit your personal information. This is usually done by clicking on embedded link within the message. You are then redirected to a site that looks like it belongs to the entity but it actually belongs to the scammer.
Once inside the site you are asked to provide personal information, such as your social security number, account numbers, PIN, passwords, and other personal information.
Once the consumer enters their personal information the perpetrator has access to your information and can assume your identity. (See more on identity theft)
What you can do to report Phishing scams:
• Report phishing e-mails to spam@uce.gov
• Report it to the Anti-Phishing group at report phishing@antiphishing.org
Learn more from FTC.gov
Identity Theft Tri-fold.PDF for Consumers
Identity Theft Tri-Fold.PDF for those in the Military
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