Consumer Tips

Our top 10 Prevention Tips are aimed to help consumers avoid the fastest growing online identity theft scam.

  1. Learn to recognize fraudulent phishing emails. Beware of unexpected messages requiring some urgent action to avoid "imminent problems" with your account. A common email scam is to create a sense of urgency by indicating that your account will be suspended if you do not verify your account. Phishing emails are almost always not personalized, while legitimate messages from your credit card company, bank or real e-commerce websites usually will be. Phishers will ask for your account number, user name or password and any other sensitive information they can exploit.
  2. Never submit any sensitive information via e-mail. E-mails are not a secure form of communication. Generally banks and other financial institutions will not ask you to submit any sensitive information via email. Think first - Act Second. The action to take is to verify a contact by the company before responding to the email. Do not even send a "do not contact me again" email.
  3. Use caution when transmitting your personal information. If you need to update or verify personal financial information, ensure the website is secure. You can identify a secure site by the site's address, which should begin with "https://" instead of just "http://" and by the lock icon displayed on the status bar of your browser.
  4. Do not click on links in e-mails, even if they state to be from your bank. Instead type in the web address you know to be authentic or call the bank directly on a number that you have called before.
  5. Check your accounts regularly, review statements to verify that no one is making unauthorized changes or purchases. Do not leave your accounts unexamined for long periods of time.
  6. Report all suspicious transactions on your accounts to your bank and credit card companies immediately.
  7. Take immediate action if you believe you are a victim of phishing. Suspend all accounts that you believe have been tampered with or fraudulently opened. Contact credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file if you fall victim to a phishing scam or other identity theft.
  8. Report fraudulent phishing sites to the PhishSpot Network. We work with law enforcement agencies and ISPs to ensure that the appropriate authorities are notified and work is commenced immediately to take down the fraudulent website.
  9. Download and install any new security updates for your browser. This will help prevent potential hackers from gaining access to your information by exploiting known security issues.
  10. We recommend you use the Deepnet Explorer browser which has a built in anti-phishing solution which will alert you if you are visiting a potentially fraudulent website. To learn more about the browser visit DeepnetExplorer.com