Phishing for Confidential Information!!!!!!

"Phishing" is a growing form of attempted identity theft in which consumers are contacted via bogus e-mail messages that try to lure them into providing personal information such as their Social Security number and/or financial account information. Phishers, or fraudsters, may pose as financial institutions, credit card companies, retailers, government agencies or other entities with which consumers have a relationship.

Incidents of phishing and identity theft continue to increase dramatically, according to an independent nationwide survey of consumers released by electronic commerce and payments leader First Data Corp. This survey found that 6.8% of adults have been victimized by identity theft and 43.4% of adults have received a "phishing" contact.

The study further indicates that as many as 54 million Americans have been the victims of ID-related fraud. It also showed that more than one-third of consumers surveyed (36.6 percent) reported that they have received a phishing e-mail, while 19 percent said they have received a phishing phone call. Of those consumers who said they were contacted by phishers, 5 percent trusted the phishers enough to provide the requested personal information. Of those who said they provided information, nearly half (45 percent) reported that the information was used to make an unauthorized transaction, open an account, or commit another type of identity theft. In the past year, this contributed to approximately 2 million new identity theft victims from phishing alone.

Check out more on Identity Theft on our Identity Theft Information page!

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