Don’t take the Bait-Beware of Phishing Scams

Law enforcement officials use the word “phishing” to describe a type of identity theft by which scammers use fake Web sites and e-mails to fish for valuable personal information from consumers.

In the typical phishing scam, you receive an e-mail supposedly from a financial institution or company you may do business with. The email describes a reason you must “verify” or “re-submit” confidential information-such as a bank account and credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs).