Online Security: Be Safe With Your Credit Card

Online Security: Be Safe With Your Credit Card
"You never can be too sure," at least that's what my
anti-Internet Shopping friends tell me. Maybe they are
right, but the Internet is too convenient and powerful to
not take advantage of. So, as long as you are online, you
ought to keep a few things in mind ? after all they could
be correct.

Phishing Scams ? What to Watch For

The biggest credit fraud problem on the Internet today
doesn't have to do with consumer purchases, it has to do
with a phenomenon known as "phishing." Phishing is a
criminal activity in which scamsters attempt to acquire
personal or credit card information. Although phishing
originated in the 1990s as a way to gain illegal access to
America OnLine, it has progressed into one of the fastest
and most adaptive credit card crimes in America.

The latest incarnations have attempted to target online
shoppers and bank patrons, as well as social networking
sites like MySpace or Facebook. Typically, a user will
receive a "spoofed" email, a clever production made to
imitate a bank, merchant or credit card company. The email
will contain general information, and typically requests
some sort of verification of account information, or
request for personal data. Phishers have even gone so far
as to imitate the IRS and capture sensitive tax data.
Instant messenger and the telephone have been used to a
lesser extent.

Some common tactics that Phishers use are mimicking URLs to
banks or credit providers that you use. For example, a
website could be set up that asks you to verify your
account number and billing address. It could appear to be
related to your bank, and show a web address of something
like: www.creditCardCompany.fakePage.com. Unwitting users
may end up simply forking over extremely account data that
could, and probably will be used for identity theft. So,
be weary of online solicitations of account information.
Most, if not 100% of banks and credit card providers have a
strict policy to never solicit personal account information
online.

How to Respond to Phishing

The Federal Trade Commission began prosecuting phishing
crimes in 2004, with mixed success. If you become a victim
of phishing you should contact them, your local police, or
the FBI immediately. Also, it goes without saying that you
should close any account that may be tampered with, and
contact your credit providers immediately. Finally, make
sure to contact the three major credit reporting bureaus to
have a fraud alert posted on your credit report.

In 2005 Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Anti-Phishing
Act of 2005. It is a bill that doles out severe criminal
penalties to anybody convicted of creating fraudulent
emails or websites in order to illegally gain information
or financial reward. Phishing is now a federal crime, and
the Secret Service and FBI are more aggressively pursuing
it.

The basic and obvious steps to prevent yourself from
becoming a victim of phishing is to not respond to email or
Internet solicitations for your personal account
information. In fact, as your browser can be manipulated
by Javascript, you ought not even open unsolicited mail or
junk mail. The best possible tip you can follow is that
if you see a request from a creditor or bank you do
business with, you should contact them by phone or in
person to discuss the online solicitation. Verify their
intentions, but do so using customer service contact
information you already have in your account informations ?
that is to say, don't use the "contact" phone number from
the suspicious email.

For more information on phishing and Internet fraud, visit
www.ftc.gov.

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To find Online Credit Card Offers, click the following
link: http://www.credit-card-surplus.com

Ed Vegliante runs http://www.credit-card-surplus.com ,
a credit card directory enabling the consumer to compare
and apply for credit cards.