The Internet is like life; there are criminals and dishonest people everywhere.

At home we lock our doors then turn on our alarms to protect ourselves. We read the paper and watch the news to stay informed on dangerous situations.
We need to take the same precautions in cyberspace.

Everyday new scams and schemes crop up on the
Internet.
The details may change but the scams are all variations on the same theme.
Learn these, educate yourself and you will be able to avoid being scammed.
 
Phishing:
What is it?
Phishing is the act of tricking you into revealing confident- ional information.
Through using fraudulent email claiming to be from a legitimate business.
The purpose?
To steal your identity and money.
These fake websites and emails are designed to fool people. They trick you into revealing….

·         account usernames
·         account numbers
·         passwords
·         pin numbers
·         social security number
·         credit card information

FACT:
Scammers are able to convince an amazing 4% of recipients to respond to them.
How do they do that?

The crooks are clever.
You will receive an “official” looking email from businesses you may deal with.
This email will contain familiar graphics and logos.
They will use the same font and copy the websites you are used to seeing.
They feel like the real thing.
They aren’t!

BEWARE!!!

Phishers will always have a link in the email for you to click!
Never, Never, Never !! Click through to a website asking for information in an email!
A legitimate company will never ask you to do this by email

 A request for personal information through an email is always wrong. Alarms should be clanging in your head when you see this!

 Always manually type the name of the business you want into your browser.

 NEVER click through a link in one of these emails!

Wow do they do that? It looks so real.

Phishers steal graphics and fonts.

They then set up fake websites that look authentic.

The cleverness of these crooks is astonishing.

What happens if I do click the link?

You will be taken to a fake website that the devious criminals have created, mimicking

the actual business or financial institutions website!

Once there, they will ask you for any of the following

 They will inform you there is some type of technical problem with your account that you need to log in and correct.

What do they do with this information?

Create new charge cards and various accounts using your name and financial information
Steal money out of your banking accounts
Charge items on your credit cards
Create new ideates using this information

Rules to Protect Yourself

1. Never, ever click a link in an email to get to your bank or any business that is asking for personal information

If you only follow this one rule, you will stay safe from this dangerous and widespread danger.

Always go to the address bar in your browser and manually type in the web address. (Do not use the address found in the email you received!!)

2. If you have any doubt, phone the business.

Banks, financial institutions and legitimate businesses do not ask for sensitive information through an email, ever!

If you have any questions or concerns, simply phone the company to ask about the email.

(Once again, do not use any information found in the questionable email you received)

4. Delete any questionable emails.

The best thing to do is simply delete any suspicious email period!

The Nigerian 4-1-9 or Advance Fee Scam

This is a very old scam, yet quite successful.

When you hear about it, it seems so far fetched, that it is hard to believe people fall for it.

Yet this successful scam has robbed people in the US of over 100 million dollars!

Much to my dismay, one of my friends told me their 20 year old son fell for this just this year and lost 1,800.00

That was all his savings, so this is happening all the time!!

He reported it to the police, but folks, let me tell you something, there is not a thing they can do. That money is gone.

For more details on this scam worldwide, please read this page.

http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/

Basic premise- A wealthy foreigner needs help moving millions of dollars from his country, and you are promised a large percentage for helping him.

Here is how it works, emails or letters or faxes are sent, postmarked from a foreign country.
(The emails are often terrible, bad grammar, poor spelling) but this is just the hook.

The letter promises a hefty reward for you helping this person, or government, or family out of a situation where they need you to “help” them move their millions to your country.

Or they will tell you have been left a “bequest” or won a lottery in a different country.

At some point, you will be asked to advance money or help pay somehow to get the millions out.

People get caught up in the promise of easy money coming to them, and actually advance money to the scammer to help

pay for so-called legal fees and official documents

The crooks are very good and use official looking documents and legal papers.

People have been murdered trying to get their money back in Nigeria.

 You can see the Secret Services warnings and stories here

http://www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml

 Some Tips to Avoid Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud:

If you receive a letter from Nigeria ( or ANYWHERE!) asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner.

Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI.

If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.

Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.

Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.

Guard your account information carefully

http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm

  This may be called the Nigerian Scam, but crooks are now using other countries, so beware of anything that asks you for money.

This includes charity pleas, for things such as the Tsunami and Katrina.

Check out your charities and to be safe, donate in person to a legitimate organization like the Red Cross

General Safety Rules to Follow On and Off the Net

Protect your Social Security Number

It is important to note, that you should never give out your personal information to anyone you do not know

or aren’t sure of, this includes phone calls into your home

people coming to your door, or even when you sign up for something you have chosen, there is rarely a good reason why someone needs your Social Security number.

Many times people are not aware that much of the information you give out is optional. 

     Why should you care who sees your Social Security number?

     The more people who see it, the more susceptible you are to identity theft.

Don’t be afraid to speak up when someone asks for your number. Ask why it is needed, and ask about other options.

Don’t make it easy for someone to steal your information

• Shred personal documents before you throw them out.
   Don’t carry unused credit cards, your Social Security card, your birth certificate or other personal documents in your purse or wallet
•  Protect your Social Security number as much as you can.
•  Do not give it out to any person or company unless you have made the contact yourself, and understand why they need it.
•  Always check all your bank statements and credit card statements.  
• What to do if you are the Victim of a Scam or Phishing or Identity Theft.
  
  Report the Scam or Identity Theft to your local police. File a report and keep a copy to keep with you to show your bank and credit card companies.
  Contact all banks and credit cards and charge cards where your name has been used fraudulently, sending a copy of a police report to show that you are a fraud or Identity theft victim.
  Report all charge cards and credit cards as stolen and request new ones.
  Change all bank passwords and pin numbers
  You can contact the FBI and U.S Secret Service. They have local branches you can phone and online websites you can go to for more information.
  Contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus to get copies of your credit report. Inform them of your situation.
  They will place an alert on your account. 
    It will say something like this, "My identification has been stolen. Contact me directly at this number before extending any credit."
  

• It is up to you to contact all creditors directly. The credit bureau does not do this.
  The review of your credit file will also reveal any credit enquires on your file.
  If you cannot confirm an enquiry, then the credit bureau will investigate further.
  For more details, contact information and other stories go to this website. The United States Department of Justice

  http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html

  Other good resources for educating and learning about scams.

  http://www.scambusters.org/

  http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/10/topten.htm