For many the word fishing brings about thoughts of sitting in your favorite lawn chair, wearing your lucky hat, waiting on “the big one” to hit your lure. However, the word phishing might not bring about such pleasant thoughts for people who have experienced it. Webopedia defines phishing as: “The act of sending an email to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.”

We have all received emails that look like they are from a person or company that we are familiar with asking to verify information like usernames, passwords, name, address, and possibly even account numbers and social security numbers. A good rule of thumb is that a reputable business will almost NEVER ask for that kind of information by email. If you are unsure, it is best to call them using a phone number found on their website or billing invoice (not a number provided in the phishing email).

Often times they will use scare tactics like “possible fraudulent account activity” or maybe try to make you think you have won a prize. “Act today to claim your prize!”

If the email says that you need to access your online account to verify information DO NOT use the link provided in the email. Go directly to the company’s website and log in to your account as you normally would. The link in the email will likely direct you to a site designed to capture the information you enter to be used for fraudulent activity. See the examples listed below of phishing emails:

SKT will NEVER ask for any personal or account information from customers via email. We do send emails to our customers for notification of service changes or maintenance windows. Please call our office 888.758.8976 or our Internet support desk at 800.968.1855 if you receive an email and are unsure if it is legitimate.

The best rule of thumb is to delete any emails that you are not sure are legitimate, NEVER give personal or account information via email, and if it sounds too go to be true then it likely is.