WHAT IS A PHISHING EMAIL?

Phishing email messages take a number of forms. They might appear to come from a bank or financial institution, a company you regularly do business with, or from your social networking site such as Facebook or LinkedIn.

Phishing mail often includes official-looking logos and other identifying information taken directly from legitimate Web sites, and it may include convincing details about your personal information that scammers found on your social networking pages.

Phishing email messages, in almost all cases, request you to provide them your personal data, or direct you to web sites or phone numbers to call where they ask you to provide personal data.

The following is an example of what a phishing scam in an email message might look like. Even fun or friendly looking emails as illustrated in the sample below can be Phishing scam. Protect yourself by knowing what to look for.

Example of a phishing email message, which includes a deceptive Web address that links to a scam Web site.

To make these phishing email messages look even more legitimate, the scam artists may place a link in them that appears to go to the legitimate Web site - (1), but actually takes you to a phony scam site (2) or possibly a pop-up window that looks exactly like the official site.

HERE ARE A FEW PHRASES TO LOOK FOR IF YOU BELIEVE AN EMAIL MESSAGE MIGHT BE A PHISING SCAM.

"Verify your account."

Businesses should never ask you to send passwords, login names, Social Security numbers, or other personal information through email. If you receive an email message from us asking you to update personal or financial information, do not respond: this is a phishing scam.

"You have won the lottery."

The lottery scam is a common phishing scam known as advanced fee fraud. One of the most common forms of advanced fee fraud is a message that claims that you have won a large sum of money, or that a person will pay you a large sum of money for little or no work on your part. The lottery scam often includes references to big companies.

"If you don't respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed."

These messages convey a sense of urgency so that you'll respond immediately without thinking. A phishing email message might even claim that your response is required because your account might have been compromised.