IQ Fifty Plus Guide
Privacy Issues
Phishing
What is phishing (pronounced fishing)? These are scams that are trying to steal your personal and financial information. Phishing has primarily been online in the form of email or pop-messages bus can also occur over the phone or through the mail.
Phishers impersonal legitimate financial institutions—banks, credit unions—and businesses. The phishers cast a wide net that's bound to find persons that do business with the impersonated financial institution or company.
Email and pop-up messages may have a link to click or a phone number to call. In the case of the link, it usually goes to a fake website that mimics a legitimate site.
Want to see how savvy you are about these scams? Take the SonicWALL Phishing IQ Test. How well did you do? It’s not easy to distinguish between a real and a fake message, is it?
Here are several IQ resources to help you learn more about protecting yourself and your personal financial information.
- Fraud and Protecting Privacy Resources provides additional resources for protecting your personal and financial information.
- Enhancing Your Online Privacy and Protecting Your Personal Information provides some tips and tools to enhance your online privacy and security.
From the FTC:
- How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam provides tips to help you avoid divulging your personal information.
- Fake Credit Report Sites: Cashing in on Your Personal Information—These sites may be capturing your personal information instead of providing credit reports.
The Phishing Archive at Anti-Phishing.org provides a chronological list of phishing attacks. Each description includes a summary, the actual email, the web site, and points out the signs to look for.
OnGuard Online — Phishing provides some quick facts and links to other resources.
IQ Fifty Plus Guide is prepared by Remar Sutton and Associates and licensed to Educators Credit Union. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.