Phishing

What is "Phishing"?

"Phishing" is a general term for criminals' creation and use of emails and websites specifically designed to deceive users into disclosing their personal data such as account numbers, usernames and password
Thieves are "fishing" for your personal information and use it for criminal purposes, such as identity theft and fraud

How Phishing Works

You'll receive an email that appears to be from a trusted source such as your financial institution
The email will contain a link or a button with instructions to click on to go to a phony website that often looks identical to the legitimate one
The email will instruct you to update your personal information such as social security number, your account number and passwords or anything used to verify your identity.

Is this a Phishing email?

A Phishing email will include statements designed to get you to react as quickly as possible such as "Immediate Attention Required," or "You are requested to confirm account information"
It may instruct you not to contact customer service and to only update the information by clicking on the link or responding to the email
The email may contain poor grammar or misspelled words

How to Protect Yourself

Do not disclose private information unless you are sure you are speaking with your financial institution
Never click on links in an email you suspect may be phishing attempts
Call the customer service number on the back of your card or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser
If there is any concern or issues regarding your account the customer service representative will be able to verify that for you
Always ensure that you are using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via you Web browser
" To ensure that you are on a secure Web server, check the beginning of the Web address in your browsers address bar - it should be https:// rather than just http://

IF YOU GET A PHISHING EMAIL

For further questions