Categories: Consumer Information, fraud, phishing

Consumer information is susceptible to phishing. Unlike regular fishing where marine life is the prey, online phishing targets the Internet user. Phishing for consumer information is big business around the globe. It's how people assume new identities, criminals fund their lifestyles and good citizens' consumer information is compromised.

Last year in 2006, American consumers lost merely $200 million due to online fraud. The Internet theft is known as phishing. According to reports released by both the Federal Bureau of Investigations (the FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center, online phishing represents a mega menace to Internet users.

Generally, phishing occurs when a consumer receives an email verification regarding a financial account. In order to lure the customer to the "phishing" site, the hacker will send an email with a security notice, verification or other creative ploy to compel the target to enter any of the following information on the counterfeit, replicated web site:

• Name
• Social Security Number
• Account Number
• Password
• Password Clue
• Address
• other personal information

The technological sophistication of phishing bears many faces. An Internet user can be unknowingly redirected to a fake site. Here are three ways to avoid phishing and how to protect your information from being commandeered:

1) Always surf online with the protection of a reliable spy ware software and virus protection program.

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2) Make it a practice of clearing cookies and temporary downloaded files from your system. Depending on your operating system, these "temporary" files are located either in your Internet settings for Microsoft users and in caches or web beacons on most Mac operating systems. Cookies and spy ware act as doorways for online invasions. Quite often, hackers are able to deploy and intercept personal information.

3) Consider the installation of a firewall. (If you know of a good firewall program, email the TheConsumerJournal.com .

4) Set your computer to verify the web site certificate of each site you visit.

The Consumer Journal invites you to share your safe cyber tactics, email us .

By Holly Bentz (c) 2007 fruitionMedia.net