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NORLIGHT NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

PHISHING SCAMS ON THE RISE

Imagine you get an urgent e-mail from your bank. They've lost your account information and need you to supply them with some personal information to fix the problem. What are you going to do?

The Guardians' advice is to report the e-mail, since you have most likely been the victim of a "phishing" scam. Phishing is a new form of scam that uses fake e-mail, Web pages and sometimes even a fake Web browser address bar to trick you into giving out personal information or launching a virus. And, according to a recent MessageLabs report, phishing scams have increased by 1,200 percent in the last 6 months.

Phishing can be financially harmful to those that fall for the fake e-mails, but can be worse for the companies that are spoofed. Citibank, eBay, PayPal, Wachovia, Visa and Bank of America are a few of the U.S. companies that have been the targets of phishing. Any company involved in this type of scam will experience ramifications such as lost customer confidence, a damaged brand image, lost productivity, and possible legal implications. Many times, a phishing scam will be targeted at a company's employees, and the fake e-mail will appear to come from an administrator at the company.

If your company becomes a victim by being spoofed as the sender of a fraudulent e-mail, notify your customers immediately and make the information available on a continuous basis. Posting the information on your Web site and offering a toll-free line for customers to call can help keep your customers informed. To help your employees avoid scams such as this, your best bet is to help educate them.

The following tips come from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):

• If you get a possible phishing e-mail, contact the company by telephone. Never respond to these e-mails via the Web. Some phishing scams include a spoofed Web browser address bar, so you think you're on a valid Web site when you're not.
• When you do submit personal information via the Web, look for the "lock" icon on the browser's status bar. It signals that your information is secure during transmission.
• Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges.
• Report suspicious activity to the FTC. Send the actual spam e-mails to uce@ftc.gov. If you believe you've been scammed, file your complaint at www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC's Identity Theft Web site (www.ftc.gov/idtheft).