How To: Avoid Phishing Scams

Like most people in the Western world, or so it seems, you’ve probably received an e-mail from a bank (or eBay or Paypal) about security concerns on your account. It offers a link for you to click on in order to login and warns of dire consequences, like the closing of your account, if you don’t comply.

It might very well look official and even sound convincing. And often it works. People do click on the link and go to the site, which seems perfectly real, then enter their personal and private information. What they don’t realize is that they’ve been a victim of “phishing,” a form of online con. The link that seemed real enough took them to a fake site, and the account details they entered have been passed along to a remote server, where the person can now become a victim of identity theft.