By Sok Yeng

Phishing is an e-mail fraud method in which the perpetrator sends out legitimate-looking email in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from recipients. Typically, the messages appear to come from well known and trustworthy Web sites. Web sites that are frequently spoofed by phishers include eBay, MSN, Facebook , and, Yahoo.

For example, you might receive an email or instant message that appears to be from your bank or lender. You might be asked to confirm your bank account number or other sensitive information and sometimes threatening negative consequences if you do not do so immediately. Even though refusing to give out this information is your best defense, millions of people get fooled every year by these scams. However, there are several ways to prevent it:

Keep Email and Instant Message Addresses Private

One way to keep you from being tempted to respond to a phishing scam is to prevent them from landing in your email box. It is useful to have a separate email address for financial institutions, one for trusted friends and family, and one for general or public use. Many email providers allow you to redirect emails from each of these different addresses into one account to minimize the inconvenience of checking each account. Do keep the address you use for financial transactions as private as possible.

Report Suspected Phishing Contacts

If you receive a message that is suspected to be a phishing scam, call the customer service phone number immediately in order to confirm that you have received an actual message. Nowadays, almost every bank and credit card lender has a website where you can report suspicious emails and instant messages. They will ask you to fill up a simple form that provides them enough information to trace the origin of the perpetrator.

Spam Blocker

While you may be tempted to send along a nasty letter to the perpetrator, it is better to simply set up a spam blocker and try to ignore them. Some email programs have actual filters that will generally bounce any emails that represent those typical of a phishing email. Though it is not 100% foolproof, do scrutinize any emails you receive from large companies asking for personal or private information. Other than that, newer web browsers are loaded with built-in phishing protection. Make sure your browser is up to date to take advantage of these programs.

Related links:

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci916037,00.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Prevent-Phishing-Scams&id=1147318