Beware of Phishing

When you become a credit card holder, one unfortunate side effect is that you become a potential victim of phishing. If you are new to the term, phishing is quite simply a scam that involves sending emails to customers of certain businesses in order to request certain information.

The problem? These emails are really sent by scam artists who are hoping to gain your personal information in order to steal your identity or to take over your account number. They accomplish this by either asking you to respond with the information via email or to visit the company’s website in order to provide information. Often, these emails state that you need to confirm your account number or your password or else your account may be in some form of danger.

Unfortunately for unsuspecting consumers, these websites are not really company websites at all. Rather, they are clones of the actual websites. So, when you visit the site and provide the information in order to supposedly protect your account, you are really giving the information away to a con artist.

To protect yourself from phishing, never respond to an email from a financial institution by clicking on a link within the email. Rather, go directly to the site, log-in, and find out if there is a problem with your account. Next, be sure to report the email to the financial institution so they can follow up with the phishing email and put an end to the scam before someone really does get taken advantage of.

Beware of Phishing
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The Financial Dominance of the Credit Card Industry
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A Look at Current Bankruptcy Laws
Fixing Mistakes on Your Credit Report
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Using Pre-Paid Credit Cards for College Students
Making Sense of the Prime Rate
Protecting Your Credit Card Account Information
Reasons to Use a Credit Card Instead of Cash
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Staying Out of Debt While Using a Credit Card
Pay Your Way Out of Debt with Your Tax Refund
Tips for Shopping Online With a Credit Card
Understanding Airline Miles Credit Cards
Understanding Cash Back Credit Cards
Understanding Prepaid Credit Cards
Understanding Rewards Credit Cards
Understanding Student Credit Cards
What to Look for in a Credit Card
What to Watch Out for in Pre-Paid Credit Cards