Phishing e-mails typically ask you to click a link to visit a Web site, where you're asked to enter or confirm personal financial information such as your account numbers, passwords, Social Security number or other data. Although these Web sites may appear legitimate, they are not. Thieves can collect whatever data you enter and use it to access your personal accounts.

How can I spot a phishing scam?
Look for these warning signs:

Language and tone.
The message you receive may urge you to act quickly by suggesting that your account is threatened. It may say that if you fail to update, verify or confirm your personal or account information, access to your accounts will be suspended. The wording may also be sloppy and contain grammatical errors and misspellings.

Requests for personal information.
Scam e-mails typically ask for personal account information such as:

 - Account numbers
  - Credit and check card numbers
  - Social Security numbers
  - Online banking user IDs and passwords
  - Mother's maiden name
  - Date of birth
  - Other confidential information

Non-secure Web pages.
Clever thieves can build a fake Web site that looks nearly identical to an authentic one. They can even alter the URL (the Web address) that appears in your browser window. Watch out for non-secure Web pages that ask for sensitive information (secure sites will typically display a lock in the status bar at the bottom of your browser window and the address at the top will start with "https").

Be suspicious of demanding messages.
Messages threatening to terminate or suspend your account without your quick response should be treated as suspicious. A legitimate financial institution or business should not request personal information from you over an unsecured Web site. When in doubt, call the business' customer service number (available on your account statement) to confirm the status of your account. Do not use telephone numbers found on the suspected Web site.

Always type in the URL of the Web page you need.
Phishing scams rely on embedded links that take you to fake Web sites. It's safer to type your financial institution's Web address directly into your browser so you know you're visiting the legitimate site.

Protect your password.
Don't write down sensitive personal information such as your password or Social Security number. Change your password frequently.

Report an online scam.
If you receive suspicious e-mail that appears to come from SnoCope, please notify us immediately by forwarding the e-mail to snocope@snocope.org (do not open any attachments or click any links found in the suspicious e-mail).

You may also want to forward it to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov, or contact them at www.consumer.gov/idtheft* or 877.IDTHEFT (877.438.4338).

If you believe you have provided personal or account information in response to a fraudulent e-mail or Web site, please contact us immediately and contact the other financial institutions with which you have accounts.

Recent phishing scams

• A recent faudulent e-mail pretends to be a "Security Center Advisory" that informs members their account "has been randomly selected for maintenance," and that they need to click a link to verify their identity.
• Another fraudulent e-mail states that there is a pending charge (often a quite large one) to the member's account, and in order to decline the transaction, they need to click a button or a link in the e-mail.

All of these e-mail messages include links that appear to take you to legitimate Web sites -however, the Web pages they go to are not legitimate. They actually take you to fake Web pages where the scammers collect personal and account information.

Guidelines for e-mail use.
Because e-mail is not private, you should always be on guard when communicating through the Internet. Here are some guidelines for
using e-mail:

• Never open e-mail or attachments from a stranger.
• Never open e-mail when the return address looks unusual (not spelled right or uses symbols) unless you know who sent it.
• Never "reply" to a stranger's e-mail.
• Never send personal or private information in e-mail.

Receiving a surprise e-mail from anyone is the first clue that a crook is baiting your hook. Don't let a crook catch you with a Phishing e-mail. You should never feel compelled to open an e-mail from a stranger. If it's that important, the sender will call you.