Working in a bank gets you very aware of all different types of fraud in the world today. Phishing, also known as “carding” or “spoofing,” is internet and e-mail fraud. It starts with you receiving an e-mail from a fraud pretending to be from a reliable company or financial institution you associate with. They ask you to “update” or “validate” your financial accounts, social security number, passwords, or other personal information. They will look real but in reality it’s someone trying to get you to willingly give them your information without realizing its a scame.
Wachovia Bank has a list of tips on how to minimize the risk of fraud at http://www.wachovia.com/helpcenter/page/0,,5184_5274_5457,00.html . This list explains some important information like not sharing your pin number, canceling lost cards immediately, storing financial information in a locked place, and to regularly review your account activity. They also have a Customer Fraud Assistance Prevention brochure http://www.wachovia.com/file/new_fraud_0728.pdf, which explains how to minimize your risk by taking preventative measures. This includes checking and emptying your mailbox frequently, not giving our personal information, not writing your PIN number down, and using a shredder to destroy personal information. This brochure also goes into detail of what to do if you are a victom of fraud or identity theft.
BB&T Bank offers advice on phishing as well in the form of a short video. They show you examples of how phishing can occur with e-mails saying, “Click here to update your account,” “There’s a problem with your account,” and “Enter in your ATM card number and PIN.” They explain how phishing trys to steal passwords, personal information, or give your computer a virus. http://www.bbt.com/about/privacyandsecurity/phishing.html
By being careful and taking preventive measures, we can avoid becoming another person subject to fraud.
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