3/5/2013 – A recent security incident at Evernote allowed attackers... Read More
Protect Your Identity
Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal and financial information from unsuspecting victims. Avoid getting hooked:
- Don’t reply to e-mail or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information, and don’t click on links in the message.
- It is safer to cut and paste links from e-mail messages into your Web browser. Phishers can make links look like they go one place, but they actually send you to a different site.
- Call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card if you need to reach a company you do business with. Some scammers send an e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate business and ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a “refund.” The computer or person on the other end works for the scammer!
- Don’t e-mail personal or financial information.The University will never ask you for your myBama or Outlook email password through an e-mail request. Please forward University-related phishing attempts to security@ua.edu. A financial institution will never ask you for sensitive financial information such as account numbers, credit card numbers, and the associated PINs or passwords.
- Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges.
- If you’ve been scammed, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Web site at ftc.gov/idtheft.
Want More?
- Take the SonicWALL Phishing and Spam IQ Quiz.
- Play the Anti-Phishing Phil game to learn how to recognize phish e-mails.
- Be Safe Online: Ten Tips to Protect Personal Information on the Internet.
- The Federal Trade Commission’s ID Theft Site includes videos and other information about deterring, detecting, and defending against identity theft.
- Wondering how common identity theft is in Alabama? Here is a report from the FTC (PDF file).
Phishers are looking to lure you with bogus emails and pop-ups that seem safe. Will you take the bait or live to swim another day?
Three rounds. Three strikes. Make it through this game, and it’s clear — you’re on to spam scams and not likely to get slammed by the next one.
Luckily, this time you just need to correctly answer some questions on protecting your identity to get it back.
Bob, You’ve Been Phished by Kevin Atef, Johnson Chau, and Michael Wong received first place (single topic) in the 2006 Security Awareness Video Contest sponsored by the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force and the National Cyber Security Alliance.
Identity Theft for Criminals by Scott Polcyn and Daniel Garcia received first place (2 minute or less program category) in the 2007 Security Awareness Video Contest sponsored by the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force, the National Cyber Security Alliance, and ResearchChannel.