Be Aware of Phishing Schemes Asking for your Private Information

The Anti-Phishing Working Group estimates that the number of phishing scam websites is increasing by roughly 50% per month.

Phishing scams are attempts by spam mail to trick or deceive recipients into divulging confidential information such as Social Security Numbers, credit card numbers, bank or credit union account numbers, account usernames and passwords, and PIN numbers on debit cards by posing as legitimate business websites. The majority of phishing attacks over the past year have imitated companies such as PayPal, Citibank, eBay, Wells Fargo, AOL and even the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Be suspicious of the following:

• Emails with URGENT requests for your personal or financial information.
• Emails that do not address you by name but use a generic greeting such as “Dear Customer/Member.”
• Forms included in email messages that ask for personal information.
• Any TEXT between the domain name of a legitimate company and the domain extension (example; www.xyz.com is correct while www.xyz.fraud.com may represent a possible phishing attempt).
• Foreign websites.

A new type of phishing that has emerged does not imitate established companies, but rather pretends to be an entirely new company that offers products or services over the Internet.

Consumers are advised not to click on links within email messages you weren’t expecting. Avoid emailing any personal or financial information and review all credit and debit card statements for unauthorized charges.

Consumers should keep their computer's operating system up to date and download security patches to close holes that might exist for “phishers.” You should access your online credit and bank accounts regularly and check for accuracy.

If you have questions throughout the process or are unsure of what to do, please feel free to contact the CommunityAmerica Fraud Prevention Department at 913.905.7000 by leaving a message. Someone from the loss prevention department will contact you by close of the following business day to discuss your concerns and/or answer any questions.