Phishing: Catch them before...

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Phishing occurs whenever an individual or "entity" represents itself as a legitimate company in order to solicit information from you for malicious purposes. This most frequently occurs in the form of an email that appears to be legitimate due to the presentation of the email and the email containing the users name. To further deceive the user, many of the URLs will contain what appears to be a valid URL address containing the legitimate company's name; providing false security for the user because of a commonly-used tactic of URL redirection.

So, how can you protect yourself from these "Phishermen"? Educate yourself and question anything suspicious.

Most companies will never solicit you for your information via the internet. Instead, they will attempt to contact you via postal mail. If that fails, then they will attempt to call you. Before releasing any information, contact the business to find out if the email is legitimate. Be sure to find the phone number for the actual business through other means than the fake email. Contact your financial institutions, and find out what their policies are regarding your information as well. Many financial institutions clearly state that they will never request your information via the internet.

Most importantly, educate yourself. A simple web search for "phishing" will reveal the latest scams. There are, also, various websites that are dedicated to putting an end to this deceitful and costly cyber crime ( www.pcworld.com ) . The information contained in these sites could prove to be invaluable. Remember, knowledge is power. So, educate yourself and you'll catch them before they catch you.