FTC: Avoid Bogus E-Mails Related to Bank Mergers

The Federal Trade Commission last week issued an alert urging Internet users to be on guard against e-mails that look as if they come from a financial institution that recently acquired a consumer's bank, savings and loan, or mortgage. "In fact, these messages may be from 'phishers' looking to use personal information -- account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers -- to run up bills or commit other crimes in a consumer's name," FTC officials said.

Online Safety - 5 Important Tips to protect yourself—and your identity!

  
Your identity is one of the most valuable things you own and, unfortunately, one of the easiest things for thieves to steal.   You can shred your mail or old documents, you can cut expired credit or debit cards up into tiny pieces, you can even keep your Social Security card in a safe place.  But when you’re online, one wrong click can be like handing your identity over to thieves.

“Phishing” (an attempt to fraudulently acquire confidential information including user names, passwords, credit card information, and Social Security Numbers, by masquerading as a trustworthy or actual entity in an electronic communication) is one of the most common ways people have their identities stolen.  A 2005 study by the Better Business Bureau found that one in 23 consumers was a victim of identity theft, leaving victims to spend an average of $1,400 in out-of-pocket expenses and 600 hours (often over a period of years) recovering from this crime.

“During our regular verification of accounts, we were unable to verify your information.  Please click here to verify and update your information.”  Many of us have received emails that include something like this, many times from an email address that appears to be a legitimate financial services company.  

When you see those words in an email, “clicking here” could actually be a huge mistake.  Oftentimes, that click will lead you to a web page that may look (to the untrained eye) identical to that of the financial services company or store you think you received the email from.  However, chances are it isn’t affiliated with the financial services company or store at all and is merely an attempt to have you enter your personal information which can then be used to open accounts, apply for credit cards and loans, travel, and more.

How can you protect yourself?  Easy…follow these simple tips for a safer online experience:

1-Don’t reply to email or pop-up ads that ask for personal or financial information.

2-Don’t cut and paste a link from the message into your web browser.  Phishers can make links look like they go one place, but they actually go to a completely different site.

3-Don’t be misled by an email that appears to be from a legitimate business asking you to call a phone number to update your account or receive a refund.  Through Voice Over Internet Protocol technology, the area code you dial doesn’t mean the scammers are actually located in that area code.

4-Never email personal or financial information (businesses such as banks and stores will never request information such as that through an email).

5-Forward any spam that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov and to the business impersonated in the email (if you think it’s best to just delete it, consider this:  based on a study by the Identity Theft Resource Center, the business community loses between $40,000 and $92,000 per name in fraudulent charges.  Eventually, those costs touch us all through higher prices and higher fees).

*This article is for informational purposes only.