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Avoiding Online Scams

Phishing

How it works: You receive an e-mail that is made to look as though it comes from a legitimate company you normally do business with. The e-mail, for example, might tell you that some sort of service normally provided to you is due to expire soon. The e-mail directs you to a phony Web site made to look like the site of the company you do business with. Once there, you are asked to provide personal information -- such as a credit card or Social Security number -- so that your service can be continued.

How to protect yourself: First clue: Check for misspelled words in the e-mail and closely examine the return address. Unless you have pre-enrolled with a company to do business via e-mail, be suspicious. Contact the company you normally do business with -- via phone or e-mail -- and ask them to verify the request. The scam can be tough to detect since many of the criminals involved in phishing design Web sites that are nearly identical to a real company's Web site.

Modem Hijacking

How it works: This is perhaps one of the most prevalent scams on the Internet today. When you visit a Web site, you'll often see pop-up ads that ask you various questions and offer you a variety of services. To receive them, all you have to do is select "yes" on one or more ads. If you haven't read the fine print, however, you can unwittingly be agreeing to have software downloaded to your modem, which then instructs your modem to make long distance calls to overseas pay-per-call services. These calls can result in hundreds of dollars in charges. This usually impacts dial-up customers, rather than broadband customers. Often you don't know this has happened until you receive your next phone bill.

How to protect yourself: If you are interested in services offered by a pop-up ad, read the fine print closely before you select "yes". Unplug your dial-up phone line from your modem when you're not using it or place a long distance or international call block service on the line you use for dial-up Internet access. If you do see unexpected high charges to exotic locations on your phone bill, call your local or long distance phone company immediately and ask them to investigate.

809 Scam

How it works: Under the scam, you might receive an e-mail, page, or cell-phone text message urgently asking you to call someone in the "809" area code or some other area code that you normally don't call. If you make the call, you may be unwittingly dialing into an expensive overseas pay-per-call service resulting in large charges being placed on your next phone bill.

How to protect yourself: If you don't recognize the phone number or area code, don't return the call. In general, don't respond to such a message in any situation unless you are absolutely sure you know the person or the number you are calling.

Overseas Money Transfer Scam

How it works: This falls under the heading of "if it's too good to be true, it is." You receive an e-mail from someone claiming to represent a foreign government or someone formerly involved with a foreign government. The person will claim that, through a change in leadership or death, he or she has been left with a large amount of money. They will ask your help getting the money out of the country, and if you help you can receive a large share of the money. The message will go on to ask you to respond to the e-mail with bank account information and other personal information to help set up the transfer.

How to protect yourself: Ignore the e-mail. Hit the delete button. It is too good to be true.

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