How To Protect Yourself From Phishers

Be suspicious if someone contacts you unexpectedly and asks for your personal information. It’s hard to tell whether something is legitimate by looking at an e-mail or a Web site, or talking to someone on the phone. But if you are contacted out of the blue and asked for your personal information, it's a warning sign that something is "phishy" Most legitimate companies and agencies don’t operate that way.

Don't click on a link in an e-mail that asks for your personal information. It may take you to a phony Web site that looks just like the Web site of the real company or government agency. Following the instructions, you enter your personal information on the Web site and into the hands of identity thieves. To check whether the message is really from the company or agency, call it directly or go to the company’s Web site. If you don’t have the telephone number, get it from the phone book, the Internet, or directory assistance. Use a search engine to find the official Web site.

If someone contacts you and says you’ve been a victim of fraud, verify the person’s identity before you provide any personal information. Legitimate credit card issuers and other companies may contact you if there is an unusual pattern indicating that someone else might be using one of your accounts. But usually they only ask if you made particular transactions; they don’t request your account number or other personal information. Law enforcement agencies might also contact you if you've been the victim of fraud. To be on the safe side, ask for the person’s name, the name of the agency or company, the telephone number, and the address. Then get the main number (see tip above) and call to find out if the person is legitimate.

Job seekers should also be careful. Some phishers target people who list themselves on job search sites. Pretending to be potential employers, they ask for your Social Security number and other personal information. Follow the advice above and verify the person’s identity before providing any personal information.

For complete information about phishing please visit non profit website setup at http://www.phishinginfo.org Psmail.net has a scanner which will recognize phishing emails as dangerous and discard them so they never reach your mailbox or your mail folders. If you have receieved any such phishing emails, please forward the whole message with headers and body to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it in a zipped or compressed format to keep the email from being discarded by our scanners.