Phishing scams, identity theft and more lurk on the Internet

The Internet has been a great tool for all of us in the ten or so years that it has been in popular use. It makes all sorts of information and entertainment more readily available than ever before. Unfortunately, it also makes us more vulnerable to attacks from all manner of people who wish to do us harm, particularly by stealing valuable financial information about us. Here are a few financial scams that are currently out there and what you might do to avoid being victimized.

Phishing - This relatively new term is used to describe a tactic of stealing personal or credit card information from you via e-mail. In this scenario, the thieves send out an e-mail message that appears to be from some authority you may trust, such as a major bank, credit card company, PayPal, or Ebay. This message, which may look exactly like a legitimate message from the company in question, will indicate that you are about to have you account canceled or that your account may have been compromised. All you must do to fix the problem, the message says, is to log on to your account with that firm and answer a few questions. You are even presented with an official looking link that will take you to an official looking Webpage were you can enter the information. 

The problem is that the e-mail and Web page are both fraudulent and they exist only to get you to give them your username, password and perhaps your credit card number. Once they have that, they can do all manner of things, from running Ebay auctions in your name to spending money with your credit card while posing as you. These phishing expeditions have become quite common. We must receive 10-12 such e-mails per day. Remember, anyone with whom you do business will already have the information these people are seeking. If a message looks suspicious, delete it.

Storing credit card information online - Many online merchants will offer to store your credit card data. That way, when you make your next purchase, you won’t have to enter it again. The problem with this is that if the database containing your credit card number can be accessed by you, it can be hacked and accessed by someone else. Your credit card information is safest in your wallet or purse, not in the database of ShoppingSite.com or whomever you buy from. Don’t do it.

If you bank or access information about mutual or stock funds online, make sure that your password is a good one. Easily guessed passwords like birthdays or names of pets can let thieves access your accounts and do all sorts of harm. Be cautious when doing financial business online.

Make sure that you have a firewall, either hardware or software, protecting your access to the Internet. If the computers of large corporations can be hacked, then so can yours. It’s better to be cautious than sorry.

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