The first time I took my grand-daughter fishing we did not catch any fish. We did not even get a nipple, but we did have fun. That night sitting watching the camp fire she asked, “Why didn’t we catch anything.” I answered, “Must be everyone else has caught the dumb fish and only the smart fish are left.” Being five she agreed and now she always says before each fishing trip, “Hope this lake has some dumb fish.”
Phishers are looking for the dumb phish. Be a smart phish and don’t click on any message or link in an email, Facebook post or Instant Message asking for personal information. Don’t click the link in any message. Always go to your online accounts via favorites or by typing the link. Remember legitimate companies do not ask for personal information via email.
Wikipedia: “Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one.”
FTC How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam: “If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don’t click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address yourself. In any case, don’t cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser — phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that actually send you to a different site.”
FBI on Spear Phishing: “Targets select groups of people with something in common—they work at the same company, bank at the same financial institution, attend the same college, order merchandise from the same website, etc. The e-mails are ostensibly sent from organizations or individuals the potential victims would normally get e-mails from, making them even more deceptive.”
FDIC Phishing Scam Information
Scam Alert: Email Posing as BBB Laced with Malware
Don’t be too quick to click. Be the smartest phish in the lake.
