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 They used to call it “social engineering”, when it was done over the phone usually targeting specific individuals or organizations, but the term phishing is a better description now that it is done by email. If you don’t know, phishing is the act of sending mass emails cleverly disguised as emails sent from legitimate company websites, usually banking or financially related. In these emails are instructions to “update your account” by clicking a provided link. Unfortunately that link takes you to a fake company website which looks identical to the real thing. By entering your account information on these fake sites you are sending your information to these criminals.

 Although the phishers are getting better and better at faking the emails and websites there are some tips to help identify the email as a fake, and keep your information secure.

• Most phishers are foreign and often make basic grammar and spelling mistakes. Watch for spelling mistakes and awkwardly structured sentences.
• Outlook and Outlook Express show you the true path of a link when you place your mouse over the link. Always identify where the link will take you before clicking.
• Banks and most other targeted sites will never ask you to update account information by email.
• Ensure your browser has a phishing filter enabled.
• When in doubt, go to the website directly in a separate window instead of clicking the provided link.

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