Simple Ways on How to Recognize Phishing Scams

Don't fall for the phisherman's bait! Recognize a phishing scam when you see it.

There are simple steps that you might want to do before filling out those forms asking for sensitive information.

1. Find out who it's from. If your inbox says it from, say,  The Bank You Trust, don't just stop there. Check the e-mail, if it is from the legitimate domain of your bank, trash the e-mail. If you see any @gmail, @hotmail, or @yahoo in the e-mail address of the sender, then bull's eye! You've got yourself a phishing mail bait.

2. Do not click any links. If the mail already asks confidential details like your bank account number, ATM number and passwords, then that's already one reason to be cautious about. Do not click the link provided even if you think it's legitimate. To be sure, check the lower left portion of your browser and see the destination of the link.

3. Do not fill out any forms. Especially if it requires you to input important information about your bank account, atm account, or even online game account.

4. Always check the mail's message. Are there any grammatical lapses in the message? How about wrongly spelled words? Do they address you in general terms like, for example, To Our Valued Customer? If you answered yes on all three counts, then you really have the right to be suspicious with that e-mail!

5. Check any any contact detail provided by the sender. Do they have an address or telephone number? Most phishers nowadays, use hoax information to lure you into thinking that the mail is genuine. Use any brochure or any document that you have secured from the real source - do they coincide? If not, send you mail to your trash bin.

6. Do not just give out your e-mail anywhere in the web. Think twice of giving your e-mail to any website in the web. Determine first if the website is to be trusted. Some web pages conceal their e-mail farming activities. E-mail farmers usually conspire with phishers and sell member e-mail and information.