Unfortunately, tons of people each year are phished through their e-mails and it has become a huge problem. Scammy e-mails may include subjects related to you winning the lottery, a distant family member dying of cancer, or even someone being stranded and needing money to get home. The American Banking Association describes this scenario like this: “Internet ‘phishing’ scams are one of the fastest growing frauds today.
Phishing typically a bogus email that uses legitimate materials, such as a company’s Web site graphics and logos, in an attempt to entice email recipients to provide personal financial details such as credit card numbers and social security identification numbers.” Here are some essentials things you can now if you have unfortunately fallen prey to a phishing scheme.
What to Do if You Have Been Phished
First things first, it is best to never reply back to the original e-mail that you got phished from. Typically you should contact the company listed in the e-mail and talk to their customer support. This way, you can ask them to verify anything that was discussed in the e-mail and describe to them what was said. Along with this, never click on any links that are located inside of the e-mail.
Certain groups that you should report any phishing schemes to include the Federal Trade Commission, AntiPhishing, or the FBI’s Internet Fraud Complaint Center.
After talking to these companies, most will ask you to forward along the e-mail that you received. In this case, be sure to send off the e-mail exactly as it looked to you and make sure that the original e-mail headers are included. Along with this, keep a record of any companies that you talk to so that you can contact them again at a later time for follow up information.
Help! I’ve Given Out My ATM, Credit, or Debit Card Information
If this is the case, you need to be contacting the card issuer as soon as you can. Most major companies out there will have 24-hour customer service lines and toll free numbers that you can call to talk to a representative. Besides this, make sure that you request to cancel your account. In this case, companies will shut down your card and mail you a new one with new numbers.
After this step, be sure to track all of your billing statements extremely carefully. Chances are once the criminal receives your information; they will try their best to buy an assortment of different things. Unfortunately, if you have only simply given the criminal your credit card numbers and haven’t actually lost the card itself, you may have no liability against unauthorized use. If you fail to report an unauthorized transfer from your bank account within 60 days after a new statement is issued, you may be out of luck.
You should report any theft to the three biggest credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion Corporation. Along with this, ask them to place a fraud alert and a victim’s statement within your file. This way, after checking your credit report to see if any new accounts were opened without your knowledge, these agencies can remove any fraudulent accounts that were opened after the theft occurred.
Precautions to Prevent Future Scams and Phishing
Check who exactly is sending you an e-mail and never reply with any financial information or account details. Companies will never ask for this information through an e-mail. If you are ever suspicious, be sure to give them a call.
Talk to the Internet Crime Complaint Center if you believe that you have received a phishy-looking e-mail or stumbled upon a suspicious website.
Always check the internet address of a link you may have clicked on to make sure that it is legit.
This article was composed by Ty Whitworth for the team at 9thsphere.com; contact them to learn about one of the best in Toronto web design and SEO services.