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Kansas State University

Phishing and scams

Scams and phishing usually are e-mail-related, although they can be used with any technology. Telephone and ATM scams still occur, as do online auction scams with false "overpayments". They are all variations of financial-related scams.

"Phishing" is a scam that occurs when you get a forged e-mail message that appears to be from a reputable business or website, but is really sent by criminals. The goal is to get you to click on e-mail links and/or get you to type in personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, and Social Security numbers. It is also used for identity theft.

What you can do

  1. Know that financial institutions will never send e-mail to ask for personal information or to enroll you in a new security feature.
  2. Call the institution if you are unsure about the legitimacy of a communication that appears to be from them.
  3. Use new versions of web browsers, like IE 7, Firefox 2.0, and Opera 9.1 that have some anti-phishing features that alert you before loading a suspicious website.
  4. Train yourself to recognize a fraudulent e-mail by studying the websites listed below.

Resources

Organization/entity Web address
Anti-Phishing Working Group www.antiphishing.org
Looks Too Good To Be True www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com
Internet Crime Complaint Center www.ic3.gov
National Fraud Information Center www.fraud.org
Federal Trade Commission's OnGuard Online onguardonline.gov/index.html
Urban legends and hoaxes www.snopes.com