What is phishing?
Recently there have been attempts by fraudsters to trick people into revealing their personal information, such as passwords, by creating fake web sites that look very much like the sites of legitimate financial institutions. They send out emails randomly with links to these fake web sites. This phenomenon has been called Phishing, (pronounced “fishing”).
A message or website that tries to trick you into revealing personal information by appearing to be from a legitimate source, such as a bank, a credit card company, or HESAA. Messages or websites phishing for information might ask you to enter: User names and passwords Social Security numbers Bank account numbers PINs (Personal Identification Numbers) Credit card numbers Your mother’s maiden name Your birthday Phishers often ask for personal information in an attempt to steal your HESAA account, your money, your credit, or your identity. You should always be wary of any message that asks for your personal information, or messages that refer you to a webpage asking for personal information. If you receive this type of message, especially from a source claiming to be HESAA, please do not provide the information requested. HESAA will never send unsolicited mass messages asking for your password or personal information, or messages containing executable attachments.
Phishing is an Internet fraud technique that is used by criminals to trick you into giving them personal information. Phishing occurs when a criminal sends you an e-mail message with a link to what may appear to be our website – but it is actually a fake. On this fake website, you will be asked to enter personal information, such as your social security number, account number or credit card number. Phishing is a fraudulent act aimed at stealing your identity and private account information.
Phishing is a computer-related scam that uses e-mail or pop-up messages to deceive you into revealing your credit card numbers, credit union account information, Social Security number, passwords or other personal information. The e-mail message may claim to be from a business or organization you deal with such as your Internet service provider (ISP), credit union, federal agency or state agency. These messages usually take an urgent tone asking you to update or validate your account information immediately or face consequences. If you click the link included in the email, you may be taken to a Web site that looks like an organization you are familiar with, but is in fact a fake. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recommendations for avoiding being taken in by a Phishing scam.
Phishing is a form of scam or spoof. A phishing message is an email message that falsely claims to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. These types of messages can easily tempt the user to reply or click on a dangerous link or attachment because they often come from an organization that the user has already established trust with, such as his or her bank or school. To reduce the temptation to respond to such messages, users are reminded that no legitimate business will ever ask them to supply personal information through email.
