How to Protect Yourself

Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information unless the email is digitally signed, you can't be sure it wasn't forged or 'spoofed'.

Before submitting financial information through a Web site, look for the "lock" icon on the browser's status bar. It means your information is secure during transmission.

If you receive an unexpected e-mail saying your account will be shut down unless you confirm your billing information, do not reply or click any links in the e-mail body.

If you are uncertain about the information, contact the company through an address or telephone number you know to be genuine.

If you unknowingly supplied personal or financial information, contact your bank and credit card company immediately.

Keep track of your various online accounts, and regularly log into them.

Emails stating: "We need to verify your information/Your account has been inactive" thing is the most common phishing ploy, so if you ensure your accounts are indeed active, it takes some credence away from phishers' emails.

Inspect your bank and credit card statements. If you find something wrong, report it to your bank or credit company immediately.

If you have any suspicions at all about any email message, the best thing to do is to call the company that allegedly sent you the message.

Never use the phone number included in the message to verify. Instead, take the time to look the phone number up in the phone book.

Never click on a link within a suspicious message, instead log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser.

Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information.

Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser.

To make sure you're 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://.

Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known phishing fraud websites.

Install and/or update anti-virus and personal firewall software. Update all virus definitions and run a full scan. Confirm every connection your firewall allows

Users of Microsoft Internet Explorer browser should immediately go to the Microsoft Security home page to download a special patch relating to certain phishing schemes

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