Avoiding Scammers at The Holidays
When we think about theft, we often find ourselves picturing thieves stealing our belongings, much like the Grinch did to the poor residents of Whooville. However, The Grinch had nothing on the sophisticated thieves around today. These new scammers employ advanced tactics to obtain access to your personal information and credit. Their ploys can spell disaster for you and your family should you fall victim to one of their schemes.
“Spoofing," or "phishing," frauds attempt to make internet users believe that they are receiving e-mail from a specific, trusted source or that they are connected to a trusted web site, when that is not the case. For example, you may receive an email that prompts you to shop at your favorite online store for holiday gifts… only to find out that the link is not to the “real” store at all, but to a “spoof” site instead. The phonies will never send your purchase, but instead steal your credit card information and possibly your entire identity.
Many scammers’ websites and emails may look to be authentic. Here is some sound advice to follow in order to protect yourself from becoming a victim:
If it sounds too good to be true... it most likely is. Don’t be afraid to question the offer or the instructions.
If you encounter an unsolicited e-mail that asks you either directly, or through a website, for personal financial or identity information, exercise extreme caution.
If a website address is unfamiliar, it's likely that it is not real. Only use the website addresses that you have used before. Spoof sites usually have an excessively long strong of characters in the header, with the legitimate business name somewhere in the string, or possibly not at all.
Most companies require you to log in to a secure site before you provide financial information.
Most importantly, if you have doubts about an email or website’s legitimacy, contact the company directly by phone. Odds are good that you will find you just avoided a scam.
To find out more about internet threats, we invite you to visit www.ic3.gov, where you can learn about the latest scams or file a complaint about a scammer. We also encourage you to check your free credit reports on occasion to make sure that
