Internet And Identity Theft.

The Internet has become probably the best source for identity theft. You have to be alert. Protect yourself from the theft when you visit websites.

Phishing is one of the methods adopted to steal your identity.

Whenever you get an email message, watch for a link, which you are persuaded to click. That will take you to site which may look genuine. You may be made to believe that you are in touch with a well-known financial institution or so. They may be offering fabulous discounts for some products, or some attractive prizes to be won. In short, you will be tempted to enter your personal and financial information.

In fact, you will be simply handing over your personal and financial information to the thief.

Never disclose personal or your financial information in the internet. Install anti-spy ware and firewall in the computer.

How to identify the scam?

The “from” field may show the name of a reputed company. And you believe so. But the fact is that it is quite easy to change the “from” information.

The email will display images and logos of the website mentioned in the fraud email.

You are asked to click a link to update your information. When the hyperlink is highlighted, you will see the address of the site you are asked to visit at the bottom left of the screen. And it is not the legitimate URL. What you must realize is that the text in the clickable area can be changed to any address by the sender.

Internet thieves are experts in their operation. They send bogus emails in plenty everyday. Even if a small percentage of the recipients fall prey, it means they have archived their task.

Any e-mail addressee can be subjected to phishing. All the e-mail addresses made public on the Internet are at risk.

Phishing e-mails may seem to come from anywhere – any bank, company, financial institution, departmental store, engineering/pharmaceutical companies etc.

The fundamental rule to avoid being subjected to Phishing:

Never attempt to click the links within the text of the email.

Delete the e-mail immediately if you smell any discrepancy.

Empty the trash box in your e-mail clients to prevent accidental clicks.

Be aware, that the message in the email will prompt you to click the link. You may be under the impression that you are doing it for your own good. You may be even threatened that your account is in danger. In such circumstances, open the browser and type the URL of the site in the address field and log on as usual. Then you are sure of proper information. Thus you cannot be fooled. And there is no risk of landing in trouble.

When you understand that you are getting the wrong email, do not keep quite.

Contact the company site and inform that their site is being misused. The company will be thankful to you and they may be able to take action such that their site cannot be used for unscrupulous activities.

Report the matter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or similar authorities

The Anti-Phishing Working Group has a database of common scams. Inform them so that they can alert the people accordingly.