Don't Feed the Phishers

It probably comes as no surprise to hear that phishing - an assortment of scams that trick card holders into giving out their private information - is alive and well. Another form, called 'vishing', involves scammers calling up card holders on the telephone and persuading them to part with their card numbers, security codes, and expiration dates. The calls always sound official, so it's no wonder so many people fall for them. In a recent twist, scammers are pretending to be bank officials and contacting account holders to inform them that their account has been suspended. Victims call 800 numbers provided by the thieves and are greeted by authentic-sounding voice recordings and menus. They enter their card information to reactivate their 'suspended' account, and the damage is done. Sadly, even a single mistake can have disastrous effects on one's credit score after the thieves go on a shopping spree with their ill-gotten cards.
To protect yourself from these scammers, never open any unsolicited e-mail you receive. Just opening some of these e-mails can infect your computer with harmful software programs. If you do accidentally open an e-mail (because, let's face it, some of them look really official), never click on any link contained therein. Even e-mails that claim to be from Paypal, E-bay, or even your own bank can be fakes, and the links they contain will lead you to official-looking web sites that ask you to enter your credit card information or other numbers that identity thieves want to get their hands on. You can report such e-mails to your e-mail provider and the institution that the imposters claim to represent. Also, run a spyware and virus scanner after dealing with these e-mails, just to be safe.
High tech crime is an unfortunate part of the Age of Technology. Stay smart and don't fall for phone or Internet scams that put your credit at risk.