Phishing is an attempt to steal personal data where a thief sends an email claiming to be from a legitimate business, a government agency, or a financial institution like your bank or credit card issuer. The website or email often asks you to confirm or update your account information, or may ask for your social security number, credit card information, personal identification number, password or user name, or other sensitive personal information. The thief then can use your personal information to commit identity theft or other fraudulent activities.

Phishing scams often rely on placing links in email messages, on websites, or in instant messages that seem to come from a service that you trust, like your bank, credit card company, or social networking site. These websites or emails may mimic legitimate ones very successfully.

Do not respond to unsolicited emails providing Web links and requesting that you log onto these websites so that you can update your account or log-in information. Legitimate companies do not ask you to verify your account or provide confidential information by email. If you think your bank or other organization requires your information, call customer service, or type the organization's Web address into your browser directly.

Protect Your Computer

Keeping your operating system and anti-virus software up to date. Never send personal information such as bank account numbers or social security numbers over email. When you are logging in or entering personal information to a site, check the website address carefully and review the website content for any grammatical or punctuation errors or anything else unfamiliar or out of the ordinary as that may be a sign that the site is not genuine.

For additional information on protecting your identity, view the Scams and Identity Theft sections of this website.