"Pfishing", sometimes spelled "Phishing", is a word that's used to describe a method of identity theft where con men use fake e-mail that looks like it comes from legitimate sources. This e-mail is designed to hoodwink you into giving out personal and financial information. Once the scammers receive your information they use it to either clone your identity or to empty out your bank accounts and run up your charge cards. Here are some tips on how to avoid becoming the next victim.
1. Never respond to an e-mail that looks like it came from your bank or any of your credit card issuers no matter how official it appears. Phishing scam e-mails will tell you that there is some problem with your account and that you have to click on an embedded link to correct that problem. They may threaten to close your account, or report you to the credit bureau, if you do not respond. DON'T DO IT. Don't call the telephone number that appears in the email either. Get out one of your old bank or credit card statements and call the number that appears there. Explain what the email says and follow the directions that you receive from the actual employee. Chances are they'll tell you its a scam.
2. Never give your bank account information, credit card numbers, Social Security number, passwords, personal identification numbers (PIN), or Date of Birth to anyone who asks you for that information by email. No legitimate company will expect you to reveal sensitive information via email. Also, no company that issues you a PIN will ever ask you to reveal that PIN to any of their employees.
3. Never respond to any offer to buy anything by clicking on the link in the e-mail. Even if the e-mail looks like it comes from your favorite department store it might be a scam. To avoid being hooked by Pfishing, type in the URL to the department store by yourself. Go to Google.com to look it up if you don't already know it.
4. Forward copies of any Pfishing email to the actual company or bank that is being imitated by the scammers. You can usually send any email to postmaster@ and then the bank or company name.
5. If a Pfishing e-mail seems particularly threatening or worrisome to you, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ifccfbi.gov), a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center.
6. If it's too late and you already provided any of your personal information, account numbers, or PINs then you should immediately contact your banks and credit card companies to make arrangements with them to protect your financial interests. These companies and institutions are familiar with these scams and they know what needs to be done.
7. If you receive evidence of identity theft, such as unauthorized charges on your credit card bills, or unexplained transactions in your bank account, contact the police and file a report. Be sure to get a copy of the report for your own records and to send to the companies that are involved in the transactions. You also need to contact all three major credit bureaus (Equifax at 800-525-6285, Experian at 888-397-3742 and TransUnion at 800-680-7289) and tell them that you need a fraud alert placed on your credit file.
8. You can get information on ID theft and Pfishing at the Federal Trade Commission Web site at www.ftc.gov or calling toll-free 877-382-4357.
Copyright © 2004 Cavyl Stewart. Discover 52 Ways To Do More With Software by signing up for my exclusive Free ecourse. Get resources, tips, reviews and recommendations you can use right now to help you achieve more, easier, and cheaper! 100% Original content. Visit: http://www.find-small-business-softwa re.com/52ways.html
The title of "software engineer" has got to be among... Read More
People often ask me: What image file formats will Photoshop... Read More
A few months back I really got sick of my... Read More
When you buy a computer, it most likely comes with... Read More
Words we choose to describe things and phenomena often show... Read More
Combining Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains ERP with non-Microsoft Business... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions is emerging as very attractive vendor for... Read More
Microsoft Office program is a programming tool called Visual Basic... Read More
It's no secret that software companies operate in a very... Read More
I have always regretted how Microsoft price gouges and rips... Read More
The java programming language is becoming more and more popular... Read More
Many Webmasters have never bothered to view their website's server... Read More
Microsoft CRM is new player on the CRM software... Read More
After seeing many people complain about their weak Internet security... Read More
We would like to give you several situations, when you... Read More
Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision... Read More
Here is some free software tools to help you build... Read More
Are you one of those people that keeps track of... Read More
All your software is stored on a hard-drive. But how... Read More
Navision Software was purchased by Microsoft and now it is... Read More
In this short FAQ style article we would like to... Read More
I completed an experiment recently. I wanted to find out... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share and... Read More
In a previous article, I wrote about OpenOffice... Read More
Enabling Chinese input is quick and easy, there are only... Read More
When it comes to running an office, the SOHO entrepreneur... Read More
Need software to record your voice, streaming audio or musical... Read More
The objective for Zandi Digital is to make available clever... Read More
TCO (Total Cost Ownership) is the buzzword in... Read More
If you're online using a dialup Internet connection, you'll probably... Read More
While several preventive maintenance software manufacturers offer free trials for... Read More
The vast majority of us will have, at some point,... Read More
The intentions of this short tutorial are not to teach... Read More
No matter how much you enjoy your favorite screensavers, sometimes... Read More
It is possible that if one avoided all sources of... Read More
New post-recession era has new features, which didn't exist in... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was historically designed to serve... Read More
Words we choose to describe things and phenomena often show... Read More
Having from five to ten and more favorite screensavers is... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has I'd say end user... Read More
With thousands of web pages added to the Net every... Read More
To all web designers out there, this article is for... Read More
While paper labeling CDs and DVDs may appear to be... Read More
Currently Microsoft Business Solutions is on the way of creating... Read More
Follow the steps below to quickly design, generate, and deploy... Read More
During the years of our consulting practice, which comes back... Read More
Did you ever give a thought to the number of... Read More
What is Colossus?Colossus is software licensed to about twenty-five insurance... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains as new ERP for multinational... Read More
If you use Microsoft Outlook (or similar applications) for e-mailing,... Read More
Microsoft CRM customization techniques are very diversified and based on... Read More
Professional services firm cuts costs and improves productivity with integrated... Read More
Combining Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains ERP with non-Microsoft Business... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains fits to majority of industries, in the... Read More
If you have Microsoft Great Plains as main accounting and... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics, eEnterprise has... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is becoming more and more popular and... Read More
Our company, Novaprof Inc., developed unique software - DB Integration.... Read More
Preventive Maintenance (PM) is defined as scheduled work done on... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very good fit for... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is mid and even corporate... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions accounting package... Read More
After almost two decades of existence, Quark has become the... Read More
IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange?The severe competition continues for... Read More
This article illustrates the best practices to improve the performance... Read More
Software |