IMPORTANT INFO: How to be SECURE from ''PHISHING ATTACKS'':

IMPORTANT INFO:
How to be SECURE from ''PHISHING ATTACKS'':
But there are still 5 simple ways to catch a
phishing attempt before it catches you.
Specifically:
Don't click. If your bank or credit card company
sends a warning message saying that your
account has been compromised and you need to
click through an emailed link to "verify your
account information," don't. Banks and credit card
companies don't communicate that way. Neither
does the IRS. If there's a problem with a bank or
credit card account, they'll call you. If the tax
authorities want to contact you, they do it by U.S.
mail.
Go direct. If you get one of these emails and are
worried that there may be a real problem with your
account, open up a new browser window, go
directly to your bank site and sign in there.
Chances are, you'll see something along the lines
of: "(Your bank) DOES NOT send emails instructing
you to click on a link to enter your personal
information." When you sign on without trouble and
there's no other message from your bank saying
that your account is compromised, you know that
it's not. Delete the email that caused you to worry,
but remember it -- and the fact that it was a scam
-- for next time.
Don't try to "win" anything. Phishing is done with
more than emails. Contests are big: "Win a free
iPad!" or "Get a $500 Target Gift Card!" The come-
ons are all over the web. All you have to do
supposedly to get this awesome swag is click on a
link that is likely to take you to a toxic site.
Increasingly, these toxic sites embed a virus into
your computer that allows the crook to capture
your every keystroke. That means it gets all your
passwords and user IDs for your bank and
brokerage accounts. You know you're really not
going to get something for nothing, right? So don't
pretend you will. When you see the word "free,"
think "danger." Don't go there.
Don't panic. The other brilliant scam that can pull
you into the vortex of a toxic site is the pop-up
warning: "Your computer has been compromised!
Click here to download a security fix!" When you
click, you open the gates of your computer to all
sorts of nasty viruses. If you don't panic, you
won't click and you won't regret it later.
Get security. If you don't have security software on
your computer, now is the time to invest in it.
Good services like Norton AntiVirus or McAfee will
set you back between $30 and $100 a year. If you
compare that to the $4,500 you could lose in a
phishing attack, it's a bargain.