Internet Fraud Alert

Date: December 8th, 2006 - Author: University of Maine

 If you have an e-mail account, then you have probably received e-mail that asks you something about your personal financial information. Many of these e-mails look official, and even appear to be from a familiar financial institution (like a bank or credit union), or a company such as eBay or PayPal. The subject line in the e-mail may ask you to verify your account, or indicate that an institution has had its security protection compromised, and that you need to contact them. The text within the e-mail often contains links to a Web site that appears legitimate, but is really a phony site set up to collect personal information.

One research firm has estimated that 52 million U.S. Internet users received e-mails “phishing” for financial and identity information over 12 months. “Phishing” is computer slang for fishing—in this case fishing for your private information. If you open these e-mails, you risk having your personal identification information stolen.

How can you protect yourself? Follow these suggestions:

1. Don’t open these e-mails. Delete them immediately. It is easy to accidentally click on the links within the text once the e-mail is open. And some viruses are triggered just by opening the e-mail: no clicking required.

2. Do not “save” passwords and credit card numbers online—instead enter them each time you make a purchase. Do not provide passwords in response to an unsolicited request.

3. If you are not sure if an e-mail message is legitimate, contact the company claiming to send the e-mail by phone or e-mail, using contact information you can rely on.

4. Check all your accounts regularly.

5. Maine law permits each consumer to obtain a free report from all credit reporting agencies each year. Get forms from the Web site of the Maine Office of Consumer Credit Regulation, www.MaineCreditReg.org.

Limit your risk of identity theft. Don’t open unsolicited e-mails.

Fraud Contacts 

• Federal Trade Commission 1-877-IDTHEFT
• Your financial institution(s)

Credit Bureaus

• Equifax 1-800-525-6285
• Experian 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion 1-800-680-7289

Back to Fraud Alerts Archives Page