Beware Of Phishing Scams

NEW YORK (AP) - Something else to worry about in these tough
economic times, as if we needed something else to fret over. The
government is warning that e-mail efforts to separate you from your
hard-earned money may be on the rise during the current money
crisis. The Federal Trade Commission says it's likely that would-be
thieves will step-up "phishing" attempts. For those not familiar
with the term, that's when a scammer sends e-mails disguised as
being from an official financial institution, like a bank or
mortgage company. They try to get you to part with personal
information like account numbers or passwords, then use that data
to swipe your identity or access your funds. To avoid phishing
scams, be careful about responding to e-mails that seem to come
from financial institutions, especially if they try to get you to
give them information they should already have, such as passwords.
At the same time, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation says it
is getting reports about a bogus e-mail that claims to be from the
FDIC. It tries to lure victims in with the subject line: "Funds
wired into your account are stolen."

For an FTC Guide to protect consumers from scams: click here.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)