How to avoid Phishing Scams - By: Ms Mindy Matter

In most cases, if a stranger came up to you to ask for your credit card number or other sensitive personal information, you probably wouldn't be very willing to offer it up, but by using the anonymity of the internet, those who create phishing scams get you to do exactly that - give your personal data to complete strangers. The term "phishing scam" refers to programs that attempt to gain data about an individual or an individual's financial information. That data is then used for a variety of purposes. Avoiding them is absolutely necessary, and these tips may help.

Email Phishing Scams

Many phishing scams are rooted in email, and understanding their tactics may help you avoid them. First, it's important to understand that any piece of mail requesting your financial information is probably not legitimate. If it doesn't have a digital signature, it's distinctly possible it was forged.

Most of these kinds of emails will have exciting or scary information in them. That is used to help ensure you'll react immediately to the contents of the mail. It may even ask for your user name or password on a given site, your credit card number, your social security number, or your date of birth. None of those things should ever be transmitted via email.

Not only do they have emotionally charged messages, but they can be personalized. Often they are not, but in many cases, it says something as simple as "Dear Account Holder." Actual emails from your credit card company, an ecommerce company, or your bank will always personalize your message, and you can give them a call at any time to make certain that you're not becoming the victim of a scam.

Additionally, most scam emails contain the link to a website. It is essential that you never click on a website link within an email. Type it into your browser direction, because many authors can make a link look quite real while redirecting you to a fake website. For example, in some PayPal phishing scam emails, the user is taken to a page that looks just like the real thing and asked to type in his user name and password. Then that information is captured and used for concerning purposes.

There are a few ways you can tell if a website is the real deal. First, you can look for poor English or design flaws. Second, you can view the source code directly from the email, and if you see anything awkward about the URL, you know to avoid it.

It's unfortunate, but the link within an email can do one of several things. It can take you to the actual site, but a pop up will take your personal information as you type it in. It can, of course, direct you to a fake site. It can also cover the address window with an authentic-looking image. More concerning, though, it can make the link take you to a spot that automatically downloads a keylogger so that each subsequent keystroke you make will be reported back to the source. As you handle your online banking, your credit card payments, and your everyday transactions, you will be transmitting information to other individuals.

Online Phishing Scams

In addition to protecting yourself from email phishing scams, you need to protect yourself while you're online too. That starts by verifying the security of any shopping or account sites. If the URL of the server switches to https instead of http once you've logged in, that's a good sign. It means the server you're communicating with is secure. Also, you may notice a tiny padlock somewhere on your browser. That is also a good sign that you're in safe hands. Keep in mind, though, that you shouldn't rely on either of those things. Phishing scams can sometimes make use of security certificates that look real. If your browser issues a warning about a given site's security certificate, it's best to take heed. Many browsers have built in phishing protection these days to help you be aware of problem sites.

You can further protect yourself from both email and online phishing by checking all of your accounts and your credit report on a regular basis. Avoid ignoring an account for more than a month at a time to monitor suspicious activity, and download a copy of your credit report at least once per year.

Finally, keep your operating system as well as your antivirus and antispyware solutions up to date, and make sure that you have a firewall installed on your computer. Scan your computer using both your antivirus software and your antispyware software on a regular basis. All of these tools can help to stop phishing scams before you hand out personal information, but your own vigilance is the key to the equation.

About the Author

By Mindy Matter for http://www.removeadware.com.au - Here you'll learn more about online privacy and phishing scams: http://www.removeadware.com.au - Please link to this site when using this article.

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