Tips to Protect Yourself From Phishing Schemes

1. Never provide your personal information when responding to an unsolicited email request, no matter how legitimate the communication may look. Whether by phone, email or internet site, data created by phishers may look like the real thing. If you didn’t initiate the communication, you shouldn’t provide any information.
2. Never provide a password over the telephone in response to an unsolicited request. Financial institutions should never ask you to verify your account information online.
3. Contact the financial institution yourself, if you believe the contact may be legitimate. Phone number and websites can be found on your monthly statements from your financial institutions. You can also look up companies on the internet or in phone books.
4. Regularly review your account statements to confirm there are no fraudulent charges. If your account statement is ever late, immediately contact the financial institution to determine why.
5. Visit the anti-phishing working group website to obtain a list of the most recent incidents of phishing and find the latest news in the fight against phishing, www.antiphishing.orgBecoming Proactive

When you encounter a potential fraud, especially if you believe you’ve lost money, act immediately:

• If you receive phishing emails, you can report the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov, and forward the email to enforcement@sec.gov, to pass the tip to the SEC’s Enforcement Division.
• If you think your personal information has been compromised, visit the Identity Theft Resource Center of the Federal Trade Commission for more information on how to proceed with protecting yourself and minimizing the damage.