If a stranger walked up to you and asked you for your credit card, would you give it to him?

You probably realize that this scenario is ridiculous, that you should never give a stranger access to your finances. However, when a stranger sends an email asking for sensitive personal information, far too many people respond, providing their credit card numbers, passwords and other important information.

Phishing, the sending of emails requesting financial or security information from random individuals, is an ever-increasing problem on the internet. Emails are sent claiming to be from a bank, retailer or internet service provider requesting that those who receive the email follow certain actions, such as following a link and filling out personal information. According to a recent survey by Gartner Research, the number of people who received a phishing email nearly doubled from 2004 to 2006, and financial losses due to phishing scams topped $2.8 billion USD.

There are many ways to protect yourself from phishing scams.

• Never follow a link in an unexpected email. If you receive an unexpected email requesting that you go to a webpage to update information, do not follow the link. Instead, type the address of the company’s website directly into your browser.
• If you are not sure if the email is legitimate, contact the company via another message, such as by phone. If you do call the company, do not use the phone number provided in the email. Instead, use the number that you have in your account documentation or look it up in the phone book or on their website.
• Report the message to the company that it claims to originate from. This will allow the company to investigate and take steps to prevent the scam from catching other customers. By forwarding it to The Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@antiphishing.org, the email will be available to many in the industry to help fight phishing scams.

The most important step that you can take to prevent phishing is educating yourself. There are many websites, such as Ongard Online that provide information on how to prevent becoming a victim of a phishing scam. You can also take a quiz and see how likely you are to get hooked.