FYI FOILING THE PHISHERS. Phishing is a growing form of online fraud. It blends old-fashioned confidence scams with innovations in technological trickery. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to remember that real companies almost never send e-mail asking you to submit any personal data. Phishers use "spoofed" [fake] e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool you into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, Social Security numbers, etc. By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers can fool you. They often include fancy graphics, trademark symbols, and an authentic- looking e-mail address in the "from" line, but all of these things can be faked easily. One of the easiest ways to tell that it comes from a phiser is if the message tries to scare you into giving up personal and financial information by saying that your account needs to be verified, updated or confirmed. If you think a message might be legitimate, contact the organization by phone or open a new Internet browser window and type in the company's Web address. Do not cut and paste material from suspicious e-mail messages and never reply to a suspected phiser. Be smart. Be safe. Here's more on how to avoid these phishing scams: http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html * * * REPRINTS. Permission to reprint articles from RootsWeb Review is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, provided: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the article: Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 15 December 2004, Vol. 7, No. 50.