You may have heard about phishers, those that steal the identity of other people and use them for illegal purposes. This internet thieves scam people into giving their financial account numbers, PIN numbers and other personal information by making people believe to be someone they’re not.
What You Should Do
- Watch out for “phishy” emails
Usually, phishy mails are sent addressed from a legal retailer bank organization or government agency. You will be asked to confirm your personal information for some make believe reasons.
- Don’t click on links that asks for personal information
These internet thieves use these links to attract people to fake websites that looks just like the real sites of the company, organization or any association they are impersonating. If you will follow this link and give you personal information, you are like giving away your identity to these thieves.
- Beware of “pharming”
The online ID thieves have already made some new innovations. A virus will be secretly planted in your computer and will take control of your Web browser. When you enter the address of a legal website, you will be automatically taken to a phony site without noticing it. any personal information you enter such as the account name and password will be stolen and it can fraudulently used.
- Know that phishing can also happen to phone
You may get a call from someone who will pretend to be from a company, making some false claims and would ask for your personal information.
- Jobseekers should also be vigilant
Some online thieves target people who post on job search sites. They would pretend to be an employer and would ask for your personal information.
- Report phishing
You should know what to do when phishing happens, whether you are a victim or not. Inform the company or agency that the phisher was using or report it to the law enforcement authorities.