Avoid getting hooked by a Phishing Scam

Are you receiving email with a similar message? It’s nothing but scam called phishing and it involves Internet fraudsters who send spam or pop-up messages to bait personal information like credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information from unwary victims.

Phishing scams target student:Scammers have been sending e-mails claiming to be official university officials in order to gain secure information from students.

FTC suggests the following tips to keep away from getting hooked by a phishing scam:

• If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal information, do not reply and also don’t click on the link in the message. Legal companies never ask for this information via email. If you are worried about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number. Don’t cut and paste the link from the message into your browser. Phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that in fact send you to a dissimilar site.
• Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software and update them regularly. Some scam emails contain software that can harm your computer or trail your behavior on the Internet without your knowledge.
• Look for antivirus software that recognizes present viruses and older ones that can effectively reverse the damage and that updates repeatedly. Operating systems or browsers also may offer free software patches to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.
• Review credit card and bank account statements once you receive them to check for illegal charges.
• Don’t email personal or financial information where email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information.

If you believe you’ve been scammed, file your complaint at ftc.gov.