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Is Someone "Phishing"
for Your Information?
Internet scammers casting
about for people's financial information
have a new way to lure unsuspecting victims:
they go "phishing." Phishing is
a high-tech scam that uses spam to deceive
consumers into disclosing their credit card
numbers, bank account information, Social
Security numbers, passwords, and other sensitive
personal information.
According to the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), the latest phishing
scam involves emails that claim to be from
regulations.gov, a Web site where
consumers can participate in government
rulemaking by submitting comments. The emails'
subject lines typically read "Official
information" or "Urgent information
to all credit card holders!" The message's
text claims, "Due to recent changes
in Rules and Regulations, it is required
by Law for all Internet users to identify
themselves in compliance with CFR (Code
of Federal Regulations) to create a secure
and safer Internet community." The
email includes a link to a Web site that
mimics regulations.gov and asks
readers to provide their personal and financial
information.
In fact, there
is no law requiring all Internet users to
register with the government. And regulations.gov
does NOT collect financial information
or charge consumers a fee for submitting
comments. Consumers who provide their financial
information in response to an unsolicited
email could be at risk of identity theft.
If you get an unsolicited
email that claims to be from the federal
government and asks for your information,
do not respond. Send the spam to the FTC
at spam@uce.gov
so that it can be available to law enforcement.
Avoid emailing personal
and financial information. If you get an
unexpected email from a company or government
agency asking for your personal information,
contact the company or agency cited in the
email using a telephone number you know
to be genuine, or start a new Internet session
and type in the Web address that you know
is correct.
If you have recently shared
your credit card or bank account information
in response to an unsolicited email that
claimed to be from regulations.gov,
you should notify your credit card company
or bank immediately and discuss whether
you should cancel your accounts. In any
event, you should carefully monitor your
accounts. If you provided your Social Security
number, you should contact one of the three
national consumer reporting agencies, ask
that a fraud alert be placed on your accounts
and obtain copies of your credit reports.
You also should visit the FTC's Identity
Theft Web site (www.consumer.gov/idtheft)
to file a complaint and learn more about
how to minimize your risk of damage from
identity theft.
Regulations.gov
is operated by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency in association with the
Food and Drug Administration, the National
Archives and Records Administration/Office
of the Federal Register, and the Government
Printing Office. The FTC and other federal
agencies use the regulations.gov
portal to receive comments from the public
regarding proposed rules and regulations.
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